Changing usage habits of young campers and why operators should respond to them

The new generation of campers wants proximity to nature and the convenience of digital connectivity.

Campers sit in front of the caravan in shorts, grill bratwurst and otherwise want their peace and quiet? This cliché has not been true for a long time. The target group of campers has changed significantly in recent years. Just like their usage behavior in terms of media and Internet use. In the following article, we will show you in more detail why you as a campsite operator should react to this.

Changing media use - data and figures

In the spring of 2020, the results of the Postbank Digital Study were published, which is already examining the media use of Germans for the sixth year in a row. A clear picture was already emerging at the beginning of the corona crisis last year. In the course of the pandemic, the digital usage behavior of Germans has changed and thus the behavior of customers at campsites will also change.

According to the study, German citizens spend up to 56 hours a week on the Internet. This is equivalent to more than a full-time job. This is not only the case for younger users under 40, but also 73% of those over 40 spend up to 16 hours a week online with their smartphone. In particular, the use of messenger services such as WhatsApp as well as social media use has increased in all age groups. However, the biggest winners of the crisis are by far the video streaming services such as Netflix, YouTube, etc., which experienced an enormous increase in customers, which has not subsided again in the following months.

Changing usage habits also at the campsite

The ever-increasing use of streaming platforms in particular is already noticeable at campsites today and will continue to grow in the coming years. As Oliver Behrends from Ostseecamp Rostocker Heide said in an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung, it is only a matter of three or four years until Netflix and Co. will have overtaken linear television at the campsite as well. By then, at the latest, everyone will want to receive their usual streaming platforms in the tent as well. However, this requires completely different bandwidths and consumption volumes for users, which are not yet available at many campsites.

Behrends has therefore taken the precaution of setting up his own radio relay tower for WiFi at the campsite in Graal-Müritz so as not to lose any guests. Because, as he knows, it's no longer just the children and young people who demand fast reception, but also the elderly. For guests, being online is now a basic need, and as a campsite operator, he has to take that into account.

For campsite operators, however, setting up a stable and fast WiFi network on the campsite is not just a matter of cost and effort. There are also many advantages, as we show here in more detail (read also our article "WiFi at campsites - digitalization as an opportunity".). For example, the increasing use of social media can have a positive effect on the booking figures of the campsite, even among the older target group. This is because satisfied guests like to post or share their experiences with friends and acquaintances on social media or via messenger services. Campsite operators thus reach potential new guests. This free form of advertising as well as verbal recommendation, together with rating platforms, is still among the most trustworthy and best recommendations among users.

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Young campers also work at the campsite

WiFi at the campsite is not only relevant during leisure time. More and more people need a stable connection for work as well. For the young camper generation, the boundaries between work and leisure are becoming increasingly blurred. Even on vacation, some employees want to be reachable.

"We have to realize that many campers spend one or two hours a day on the net working," confirms Gerd Scharmberg, spokesman for the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Camping Industry Association. But often it is no longer enough just to send e-mails. Video telephony and conferencing have also become an integral part of everyday working life as a result of the changes in the corona crisis. However, a high bandwidth and a stable network are prerequisites for this.

This development, as well as the possibility of working from a home office and thus from anywhere, will continue to increase in the coming years. There is already a trend toward digital nomads and the so-called van life. People who live permanently in a camper or motor home and work on the road via the Internet.

Changed target group - Changed demands of young campers

As can be clearly seen from the rising number of overnight stays at camping establishments and increasing new registrations of motor homes, camping vacations have long since ceased to be a niche topic. It is no longer just long-established campers who drive to their permanent site, but in recent years there has been a real camping boom (2020 also boosted by Corona). However, this also changes the target group of campers. Increasingly, new and first-time campers are also spending their vacation in a motorhome or caravan, who are otherwise accustomed to the comfort of hotels.

These demands for comfort as well as Internet availability are now also being made at the campsite. Both are important to the guests: the proximity to nature and the comfort like in the living room at home. This can also be seen in the development of the new mobile homes, which are becoming more and more comfortable. And this also includes a stable Internet more precisely WiFi at the campsite. Operators should respond to these new usage habits.

Because even if recreation in nature is in the foreground, especially young campers do not want to do without WiFi . As a campsite operator, you can easily win over this new target group. By offering them both the pleasant atmosphere in the countryside and a stable WiFi at the campsite.

You are welcome to find out which options are suitable for this at your campsite. You can find more information for WiFi at the campsite here.