The days of arriving at a campsite and pitching up your own tent are long gone. Over the past half a decade, there has been a growing trend of posh camping, known as glamping, both in the UK and abroad.
The word ‘glamping’ is a fusion of glamour and camping and it’s a concept which delivers just that. Glamping sites allow holidaymakers to immerse themselves in nature without sacrificing the luxury of comfortable accommodation with all the amenities.
Glamping gives people the opportunity to wake up in yurts, treehouses, tepees, eco-pods and lodges of all shapes and sizes at beautiful locations across the country and abroad. ‘
The concept of glamping became so successful owing to its ability to appeal to a wide market.
New research by hospitality job board Catereer.com suggests that 70% of Britain’s are planning a holiday or short break in the UK this year, giving the economy a potential boost of £27 billion. Staying in the country for your holidays has widely become known as a staycation. This type of trip is growing in popularity year on year, probably due to the uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the rising cost of travelling abroad. Companies are also coming up with ever more innovative and appealing offerings, both in terms of accommodation and activities, increasingly making the UK a first choice for families and individuals alike.
Staying local allows people to save a great deal of money and reduces travelling time, making it more accessible to those on lower incomes, those with less time to spare and those who suffer from travel-related phobias and sickness.
[adsense]The UK has many beautiful destinations to explore and the rise of the staycation is broadening the range of places people are visiting. Whilst in the past, the south of England was one of the most popular destinations for staycationers, this is now changing. Holiday rental marketplace, Snaptrip, has revealed that parts of Yorkshire and Wales have become increasingly popular in recent times, with the seaside town of Whitby in North Yorkshire being the most popular home destination for British holidaymakers in 2019.
The great thing about glamping is that it appeals to people who were previously put off by the thought of roughing it, setting up tents, sleeping on uneven ground and waking up soaked from leaking tents, using chemical toilets (or worse) and eating dinner off foil tray barbecues. Glamping allows people to immerse themselves in nature without making these compromises.
Although the trend as we know it today became popular around 2007, glamping is believed to have its roots in the 1900’s. Wealthy Americans and Europeans sought luxury on their camping travels to Africa and were catered for in large safari tents, luxuriously furnished with antique furniture, double beds and beautiful rugs.
The resurgence of glamping is a growing movement that’s showing no signs of slowing down. As such, it represents a fantastic business opportunity for those seeking to upgrade their current campsite or start a new venture to benefit from the economic boost of the domestic holiday. Farmers and landowners are increasingly jumping on the trend as a way of diversifying their businesses and boosting their income. Some glamping business models have been shown to pay for their setup costs and generate a return on investment within the first year or two, which is a fantastic result for a new business. This is attributed to the low cost and high-income benefits of a glamping business.
Glamping is a win for business owners and holidaymakers alike and could be key to boosting the UK economy following Brexit in the coming months and years. With so many beautiful destinations and affordable accommodation on sites right across the country, there really is no reason not to start exploring all that the UK has to offer.