The development of any industry or market is ultimately demand-oriented, and this rule cannot be put before the horse. As of 2018, there are no less than 700 campsites that can be listed for business in China, and according to reliable data, there are currently more than 50,000 RVs in China. Then, based on this data, let’s make an assumption. Excluding all objective factors, the number of RVs allocated to each camp is less than 100. This division problem with obvious conclusions is believed to be the same for many camp owners and operators. The same can be figured out. To be clear here, we are talking about RV ownership, not RV trips.
a difficult road
In the final analysis, the development of RV in China is still in its infancy, and so is the status quo of the camping industry. And why there is a camp positioning of pure RV parking camps, it can be traced back to the blind copying of foreign RV parking camps. In some countries with highly developed RV and camping culture, RV-only parking camps account for about a quarter of all camp types. That is to say, many camps in these countries can survive on RV-only parking. The RV camp is more like a service station in China. When the RV passes by here, the camp can provide simple water and power supply services without too many entertainment facilities. The reason why this kind of RV parking camp with a clear positioning can survive abroad It is still due to its strong RV ownership and the number of RV trips, and this rule obviously does not work in China. Based on this, it is not difficult to see that it is difficult for camps that simply park RVs to survive when the number of RVs in China and the number of trips are very small.
point a way
The cruel reality has proved that it is almost impossible to rely on pure RV parking camps to make profits. At the initial stage of domestic RV, to change the embarrassment of “unprofitable” camps, we still need to learn from the mature European and American camping markets, this time we can’t just learn to walk in Handan. Rough copying can only lead to a dead end. Now we need to start from basic construction, proceed from our own conditions, and combine foreign experience to find a way of camp management with Chinese characteristics. At present, there are also many successful comprehensive camps in China, such as Miyun RV Town and Taihu No. 1 Camp, all of which start from their own characteristics and fully combine regional characteristics to develop a variety of entertainment services such as group building, parent-child tours, and event hosting. Replacing the positioning of simple RV camps with comprehensive service positioning, and this profit model seems to be more suitable for the current Chinese camping market.
With the improvement of national consumption level, people’s concept of tourism has also changed accordingly. Consumer groups no longer blindly pursue material comforts, but gradually begin to pay attention to the spiritual cleansing and spiritual joy that tourism brings to people, and the RV culture is gradually matching consumers’ travel needs. Due to the rapid development of RV culture and the support of government policies for the camp industry, the development of camps seems to have ushered in an unprecedented “spring”.
In 2018, the number of Chinese camps that can be counted was 770. For a country with a large population base like China, this data is obviously far below the world average. It is foreseeable that for a long period of time in the future, China’s campsite industry will always be in a stage of rapid development. With the continuous increase in the number of RVs, camps that simply park RVs in China may not have a bright future.
