In the western world, notably Europe and United States, camping holidays has long been one of the most popular ways for families to take their vacations. Of late, camping has also become increasingly popular amongst Indians, though it is primarily limited to the young adults. The addition of glamping or camping in luxury has widened the appeal in India and rest of the world.

One of the biggest impacts of the lockdowns to counter Covid-19 has been the almost unprecedented desire to take to the wilderness and open spaces that seems to have gripped the old, young and the children alike. And this could explain the spike in demand for camping holidays that has been witnessed in the United Kingdom and other European countries.

The last two years have already seen a growth in camping holidays in the United Kingdom and in January 2022, bookings for camping and glamping have risen by an astounding 90 pc compared to 2021, says coolcamping.com, a website that specialises in camping information.

Coolcamping.com also says that there is a clear increase in the offer as the site now has 44 pc more options in camping sites available this year than in 2021. It also says that bookings for camping in France have jumped by over 500 pc as compared to 2021. It also says that in January itself bookings in France exceed those for the first three months of the last year.

Amongst the peculiarities of bookings this year, coolcamping.com highlights that searches for dog-friendly campings are up by 251 pc in Wales, while they have risen by 118 pc for across the UK. Pembrokeshire and the Llyn Peninsula see a significant market growth as seaside seekers have avoided the busy beach town of Cornwall. While Cornwall bookings are up by around 17 pc this year, Pembrokeshire is already up 139 pc, while the Llyn Peninsula is up 286 pc. Another special feature of camping bookings this year is that demand for hot tub glamping this year are up 218 pc on last year and some 408 pc on pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

“Whilst the appetite for camping and glamping has grown, so has the Cool Camping inventory as we are offering almost 50% more choice this year with the website now featuring over 750 bookable camping and glamping locations with almost 19,000 units in total,” James Warner Smith editor of coolcamping.com says.