2007

The RV market has been largely neglected by tourism bureaus in their marketing efforts and also remains under-researched. With more and more baby boomers retiring, RVing is expected to boom. Increasing sales figures for RVs in North America despite rocketing gas prices suggest that the RV market is growing. Destinations, attractions and campgrounds that would like to cater to this ever greater number of RVers will need to understand how to serve this particular type of traveler.

To this end, a research study was conducted by Dr. Anne Hardy at the University of Northern British Columbia and Dr. Ulrike Gretzel at Texas A&M University with the support of the BC Real Estate Foundation, the Elkhart County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Tourism British Columbia, the Northern British Columbia Tourism Association, the Northern Rockies Alaska Highway Tourism Association, Tourism Dawson Creek and the Texas Association of Campground Owners. The goal of the study was to elicit motivations and expectations from RVers and to gain insights into their specific travel and trip planning behaviours.
A research methodology including quantitative and qualitative methods was developed to reach the study goal. Dawson Creek, BC was selected as the study site as it represents an important RV destination. Two focus groups with 12 participants each were conducted at the Dawson Creek visitor center in early June 2006. A total of 50 in-depth interviews with RVers were conducted at various sites in Dawson Creek from mid-June to the end of July. A total of 860 self-completed surveys were collected from RVers in the area from early June to late August 2006.

A summary copy is available at: RV Travelers Study