(Reston, VA - November 2022) – 15.3 million Americans plan to travel in an RV between Thanksgiving and New Year’s this year, representing 12% of the total number of leisure travelers planning to spend the holidays away from home according to the RV Industry Association’s newest travel intentions study.
Millennials and Gen Zers are taking the most RV trips with 29% of Millennial and 20% of GenZ leisure travelers planning to stay in an RV this holiday season. Outdoor adventure, flexibility, and time with friends and family top the list of reasons they’re choosing RVing over travel options. Wanting to control their environments, take everything they want from home (including their holiday gifts), enjoy the journey to the destination, and even use the RV as a guest house when visiting friends and family are among other reasons revealed in the study.
“Spending time with friends and family is an integral part of the holidays, and we know that whether RVing together for a holiday vacation or traveling in your RV for a holiday visit, spending time with friends and family is a primary reason people are going RVing this holiday season,” said RV Industry Association Executive Vice President James Ashurst.
Finances are also impacting how Americans will travel this holiday season. The cost of an RV vacation is 50% less than comparable hotel and plane ride trips and 30% less than hotel and car ride trips, making RV travel an attractive, more affordable, and easier option for holiday travelers.
This growth in the outdoor recreation industry and RV travel has also contributed a record $862 billion to the U.S. economy and 4.5 million jobs, according to the Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account (ORSA) report just released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
“These two studies demonstrate that the RV industry and its customers are vital contributors to America’s economy and all indications are that they will continue to be so,” said Ashurst. “Growth in the industry is being increasingly driven by younger and more diverse RV buyers whose purchases are largely motivated by the desire to experience the great outdoors.”