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Abstract

Outdoor related activities surged both during and following COVID 19. Numerous studies support the increase of many outdoor related activities from swimming to bird watching, and biking to geocaching. Understanding the interests and habits of visitors helps organizations. The purpose of this study was to analyze the Michigan Department of Natural Resources campground visitor activity participation from before and after COVID. Nearly 40,000 campers each year were compared from 75 campground locations throughout the state of Michigan. Findings indicate the growth of many of their outdoor oriented activities from 2019 to 2024 including beach / swimming, hiking, rock hunting, and wildlife / birdwatching. Several activities did not change, and a few activities were more popular in 2019 including mountain biking, playground use, and geocaching. Comparisons were made by age, location, income, type of accommodation, and camping with children. Differences were exhibited with age and type of accommodation more than income. While literature helps identify global / national trends, it does not provide for the unique perspectives of an organization’s visitors. Learning what, in this instance, campers do helps identify where resources such as equipment/supplies, land use, and human capital can be invested. Further, it helps identify specific ways in which an organization can better serve their visitors.

Keywords

State Park Campgrounds, COVID camping activity, Campground Activities

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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