Amidst the pandemic-induced crisis, the US Recreational Vehicle business is booming for obvious reasons.
Firstly, it is compatible with social isolation; in other words, you’re less susceptible to contracting the coronavirus. Secondly, having an RV expands your vacation spot choice beyond the closed doors of hotels and Airbnb rentals.
The need to ditch their indoor air for the great outdoors had Americans highly interested in RVs both in 2020 and 2021.
Airstream, one of the most popular RV brands, saw a 36% rise in sales year-over-year (YOY) in 2020 compared to 2019, reaching a total figure of $2.73 billion.
These stats show a big comeback of the old American RV lifestyle, despite the higher prices ranging between 39,000–$117,000.
In fact, the RV Industry Association estimates that around 46 million Americans will hit the road (RV camping) this year.
Most of this surge comes from millennials, who, as per an Outdoorsy survey, were over 70% more interested in RV trips in 2020 than in 2019.
That said, Business Insider reveals that, due to the pandemic, the general interest in RVing over other forms of tourism rose 20% since last year.
But the passion for RV trips won’t simply subside once air travel becomes available again. At least, this is the conviction of Robert Martin, the CEO and president of Thor, the maker of Airstream.
The company is making sure that there’s no backlog in production, given the enormous demand — hence why they’re on a fast manufacturing track for the summer season of 2021 and for the years to come.
In 2020, the company also saw a 160% rise in their stock market price YOY.
In addition, Americans are also attempting to flee the pandemic-imposed restrictions and breathe freely (in every sense of the word) by boating and making leisure boat purchases.
