More than half of RV enthusiasts are camping during Independence Day weekend despite rising fuel costs

by PegNews wire

CROWLEY — Fifty five percent of RV enthusiasts plan to camp with family and friends as usual this Fourth of July weekend, despite rising fuel costs. But 52 percent of RV enthusiasts do plan to camp closer to home and less often this summer as a result of rising fuel costs, according to a survey by the Texas Association of Campground Owners (TACO), which was conducted during the last two weeks of June at www.texascampgrounds.com.

"The good news, of course, is that rising fuel costs are failing to deter more than half of RVers from enjoying the holiday weekend as they normally would," said Brian Schaeffer, executive director and CEO of TACO. "These numbers reveal what many campground owners are finding - that many RV enthusiasts are, in fact, camping closer to home and less often than normal."

Locally, the strong economy has helped campgrounds stay busy. "We have your transient RVers traveling and staying daily or weekly, then we have a monthly clientele which are typically folks that are either seasonal or more often than not are here on work-related issues, everything from technology to teaching a semester at one of the universities, and of course oil and gas is big here in north Texas," Schaeffer says. "Our transient business is off about 10%, but because our job market is so strong here, those sites are taken up by people working on one project or another."

Though regional campsites are booked, their revenues are down, Schaeffer says. "If you stay some place monthly, you pay 50% less than if you stay daily or weekly. But it's better to have half a loaf than no loaf at all."

Customers are also parking their RVs at campsites and using a different vehicle for sightseeing. "We find folks are taking shorter trips, not lesser trips," Schaeffer says. "They're basing out of a park and taking their tow vehicle for half day and day trips because it's more economical. If you think of a major metropolitan area like the metroplex, there's all kinds of things you can see within two or three hours."

To entice more RV owners to camp, TACO is offering $250 worth of free gasoline. To be eligible for the quarterly drawing, visit www.texascampgrounds.com.

Posted by ccuellar