It would be great to see the longitudinal trend at the national parks. There was a recent report that "camping" (including in tents, RVs, and cabins) is way down in the Adirondacks, a state park system in northern New York. According to survey data, just 11% chose to camp in 2018, compared to 33% in 2013. Hotel, motel, resort, and rentals are up. Regardless of accommodation, average length of stay has dropped from 5.1 days to 2.8 days.
This apparently follows national trends:
More and more, Americans are showing a preference for short getaways of three nights or less, he said, spurring the industry term “micro-cation.”
Millennial and Gen Z travelers, who make up a significant portion of the region’s visitors, typically book accommodations at the last minute and stay two to three days max, McKenna said.
“They take a weekend trip, leave Thursday and come back Sunday,” he said. “That’s a trend we think is going to continue. We’re also seeing people take multiple trips spread out over the course of a year. (Young travelers) are less seasonal. They take trips in the summer, the fall and the winter.”
Fewer people chose to stay outdoors last year than in prior years, and more opted for hotels or short-term vacation rentals, according to the study. Hotels remain the preferred accommodation for visitors.
I wonder if that has more to do with the nature of work in recent years than actual preferences. I would love to take longer trips but usually can only ever fit in 2-3 day trips because of work.
For me, I figure 2-3 day trips made over a weekend cost me only 1 vacation day, so annually I get 2-3x as many days on trips for the same number of vacation days.
Of course, then you exclusively contend with weekend crowds. I dream one day the work week is culturally decoupled from M-F, and people's "weekend" is any two days of the week. It would mean less crowds for everyone and more regular business for tourist towns. K-12 school schedule is probably the chief impediment.
The issue there is the same with any flexible work option and that's coordination. If people are actually taking advantage of it it becomes increasingly harder to have meetings with multiple people involved.
This apparently follows national trends:
More and more, Americans are showing a preference for short getaways of three nights or less, he said, spurring the industry term “micro-cation.”
Millennial and Gen Z travelers, who make up a significant portion of the region’s visitors, typically book accommodations at the last minute and stay two to three days max, McKenna said.
“They take a weekend trip, leave Thursday and come back Sunday,” he said. “That’s a trend we think is going to continue. We’re also seeing people take multiple trips spread out over the course of a year. (Young travelers) are less seasonal. They take trips in the summer, the fall and the winter.”
Fewer people chose to stay outdoors last year than in prior years, and more opted for hotels or short-term vacation rentals, according to the study. Hotels remain the preferred accommodation for visitors.
Source: https://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/news/local-news/20...