Reston, VA, March 10, 2021 - Last year, Americans took to RV camping in near-record numbers. However, 2021 will exceed that enthusiasm with more RVs set to be manufactured this year than at any time in the RV industry’s history.
Who is buying all these RVs? An ever-expanding audience across every demographic.
Go RVing recently concluded their RV Owner Demographic Profile Study with Ipsos to capsulize the different demographics and travel habits of RVers in America as we head into a record-breaking year for RV camping. The results proved that RVing continues to attract a younger audience with 51% of RV owners under 55-years old. In fact, 22% of RV owners are now between 18-34 years old.
According to the study, RV ownership is at a record high with 11.2 million households owning an RV in 2021—up 62% over 6.9 million households in 2001 and 26% more than 8.9 million RV-owning households in 2011. The study also showed Millennials and Gen Zers are becoming RVers for life with an impressive 84% of 18-to-34-year-olds planning to buy another RV in the next 5 years.
While the RV industry has been experiencing 40 years of long-term growth, the impact of Covid-19 on RV camping has substantially expanded the number of people interested in RV travel.
Even as we start to come out of the crisis, the top reasons noted by respondents for this surge in RVing include:
- Freedom to control the cleanliness of their environment
- Can avoid contact with others and still feel like they were vacationing
- Control own itinerary with no set schedule
- Bring everything you want from home
- Don’t have to leave pets at home or board them
Nearly a third of the respondents in the study (31 percent) are “first-time owners,” underscoring the growth of the industry in the past decade. Ownership is spread widely not only across age levels but also across genders, as well as household income and education.
The study also identified seven distinct clusters of RV Owners ranging across demographics, attitudes, RV usage habits, and motivations. These seven clusters help to understand variances in RV owners across more than the type purchased, instead shedding light on the unique motivations, needs, and habits of each type of RVer.
