Camping and Caravanning Market

A high-season night on a Croatian campsite pitch, for two adults, two children, a car and a caravan with electricity and local tax, cost EUR 78.28 in the 2025 ACSI price comparison, against EUR 42.33 in France and EUR 24.19 in Poland. The camping and caravanning market covers the fees campers pay to stay overnight at campsites, caravan parks, RV parks and glamping sites: pitch fees for tents, caravans and motorhomes, rental of mobile homes and cabins, and glamping units. Douglas Insights sizes it at USD 30.04 billion in 2025, rising to USD 51.68 billion by 2035, a revenue CAGR of 5.57%. That 2025 figure is 1.094 billion paid guest nights multiplied by a realised USD 27.46 per guest night. Demand is still climbing: Eurostat reported on 2 April 2026 that guests spent 413 million nights at EU camping grounds, RV parks and trailer parks in 2025, up 28.5% on 2015. The study belongs to the luxury goods and leisure practice, and the build is set out under our research methodology.

What does a camping pitch night cost in Croatia, France or a US RV park?

Camping pitch prices run from EUR 24.19 to EUR 78.28 a night for a family of four with a caravan in Europe. The realised camping and caravanning yield averages USD 27.46 per guest night worldwide in 2025, once rental units, off-season discounts and free camping are blended in.

The ACSI comparison prices one high-season night for two adults and two children with a car and caravan, including electricity and tourist tax, across nearly 10,000 affiliated European campsites. Croatia led at EUR 78.28, up 3.4%, ahead of Switzerland at EUR 61.33 and Italy at EUR 58.86. France, the largest camping country, sat at EUR 42.33 after a 5.6% rise. Germany charged EUR 40.82, the Netherlands EUR 39.15 and the United Kingdom EUR 44.43. Only Poland got cheaper, at EUR 24.19 after a 1.9% cut. Prices climb almost everywhere.

Realised revenue is higher than the bare pitch fee because rental accommodation dominates French sites. The French campsite federation FNHPA counts EUR 4.7 billion of direct campsite turnover on 147.5 million nights, or EUR 31.86 a night. At the Federal Reserve 2025 average of USD 1.1306 per euro, that is USD 36.03, three times the EUR 10.58 per person implied by the French family pitch price. Rentals make the difference.

North American camping fees are disclosed by the listed park owners. Sun Communities reported same property transient RV revenue of USD 214.4 million in 2025; against its 23,550 transient RV sites, Douglas Insights calculates about USD 9,100 per transient site a year. In Australia, caravan park revenue reached AUD 3.3 billion on 57.9 million caravan and camping visitor nights, or AUD 57.0 a night, about USD 36.76. Douglas Insights puts the European realised camping yield at USD 30.98 per guest night and the North American yield at USD 27.40.

Prices keep rising: 26 of the 27 countries in the ACSI comparison raised family pitch prices in 2025, with a median rise of 3.5%. The model carries a 3.10% annual price leg to 2035, which takes the global realised camping yield from USD 27.46 to USD 37.26 per guest night.

Is camping and caravanning revenue the same as RV sales or tent equipment spending?

No: the USD 30.04 billion camping and caravanning figure counts only overnight fees paid to campsite, caravan park, RV park and glamping operators in 2025. It excludes RV and caravan sales, tents, gear and the camper spending that happens outside the site gate.

KOA put total North American camping spending at USD 61 billion in 2024 in its 2025 camping report, with households spending about USD 200 a day. Almost all of that is fuel, food, gear and activities, not site fees. FNHPA counts EUR 9.8 billion of camper spending outside French campsites against EUR 4.7 billion inside them, a ratio of 2.1 to 1.

The scope is split three ways. By accommodation type it covers caravan and motorhome pitches, rental mobile homes and cabins, tent pitches and glamping units. By end user it separates domestic campers from international campers; in France, domestic campers supplied 102.5 million of 147.5 million nights, or 70%. By booking channel it tracks direct booking, online travel platforms and club and membership schemes. Free camping in forests, on beaches and at roadside stops is outside the count, which is why Douglas Insights treats only 82% of Australian caravan and camping visitor nights as paid.

Which accommodation type earns the most camping and caravanning revenue: pitches, mobile homes or glamping?

Caravan and motorhome pitches lead with 37.8% of 2025 camping and caravanning revenue, or USD 11.36 billion. North American RV parks sell almost nothing else and European touring pitches carry electricity and vehicle fees on every night.

Caravan and motorhome pitches earn USD 11.36 billion in 2025 and grow 4.62% a year to USD 17.84 billion. Growth trails the market because the KOA survey now finds only 47% of campers prefer RV camping, the lowest share since the report began.

Rental mobile homes and cabins take 33.6%, or USD 10.09 billion. French operators built this format: equipped pitches drew 72.2 million summer nights in 2025 against 52.7 million on bare pitches, and a rented mobile home bills several times a touring pitch. The segment grows 5.71% to USD 17.59 billion.

Tent pitches hold 15.9%, worth USD 4.78 billion, the lowest yield per night in camping. Volume is steady but slow; the segment rises 3.62% a year to USD 6.82 billion. US national parks still logged 3,119,939 tent camper overnights in 2025.

Glamping units hold 12.7%, or USD 3.82 billion, and grow fastest at 9.38% a year to USD 9.35 billion. KOA finds glamping is already 29% of camping experiences and 31% of first-time campers chose it, so the format recruits newcomers at a premium nightly price.

Why are campsite guest nights growing faster than hotel nights?

Camping and caravanning nights in the EU grew 28.5% between 2015 and 2025 against 23.4% for hotels. Families treat campsites as the cheapest way to holiday and operators keep adding rental units that widen the audience.

Price-sensitive holidaymakers are the first driver, worth 0.9 points of the 2.40% volume leg. Eurostat counted 396 million EU campsite nights in 2024, so the 2025 total of 413 million was a 4.3% gain in a single year. In KOA research, 72% of campers called camping the most cost-effective way to travel, and eight in ten said rising travel costs made them adjust trips rather than cancel them. Cost is the hook. Douglas Insights counts this switch from hotels and holiday rentals toward camping as the largest single source of new guest nights, adding about 9.8 million guest nights a year at the 2025 base.

Rental and glamping capacity is the second driver, adding 0.8 points. Rented accommodation lets people without a caravan or tent go camping. In France, four and five star campsites, which carry the most mobile homes, took 61.4% of third quarter 2025 nights and grew 3.3%, while one and two star sites lost 2.8%. Glamping already supplies 29% of North American camping experiences, and 31% of first-time campers in 2025 chose it. KOA found glampers spent USD 251 a day in 2024 against USD 200 for the average camping household. Douglas Insights models a glamping night at about 2.3 times the average camping yield, so each new safari tent or pod lifts revenue faster than it lifts nights.

New camping capacity outside Europe is the third driver, worth 0.7 points. Australia logged 17.3 million caravan and camping trips and 57.9 million visitor nights in 2025, and caravan park revenue rose 7% to AUD 3.3 billion. Discovery Parks, now at 101 parks, aims to double in size by 2031. Latin America and Asia Pacific start from low campsite density, so each new park adds a larger share of regional nights. Supply follows demand.

Together the three drivers sum to 0.9 + 0.8 + 0.7 = 2.40 points of annual volume growth, net of the restraints below. Seasonality explains the shape of that growth: 67.0% of EU camping nights, or 277 million, fell in June to August 2025, so most new capacity serves the same peak weeks.

Which headwinds hold back caravan park and campsite capacity?

Three camping and caravanning headwinds remove 0.9 points from volume growth: a short peak season, coastal and planning limits on campsite land, and a cooling of RV ownership in North America.

Seasonality removes 0.4 points. August alone brought 118 million EU camping nights in 2025, almost 29% of the year, and operators cannot sell the same pitch twice on a peak night. Shoulder-season pricing helps, but family demand stays tied to school holidays.

Land and coastal limits remove 0.3 points. FNHPA counts about 2,000 French campsites in hazard zones, about 1,000 sites exposed to coastal erosion by 2100 and roughly 600 inside the 100 metre coastal construction band. France had 7,637 campsites in 2025, and the federation says the stock of developed sites is shrinking even as nights rise.

Softer RV ownership removes 0.2 points. Only 47% of North American campers now prefer RV camping in KOA research, the lowest reading since the report began, which slows demand for annual and transient RV sites relative to cabins and glamping.

Who wins the consolidation of campgrounds, holiday parks and RV resorts?

Sun Communities holds a 2.3% share of 2025 camping and caravanning revenue by Douglas Insights estimates, and no operator holds more. The market is split among thousands of family-run sites and a handful of fast-buying groups.

Douglas Insights calculates the Sun share from disclosed figures: USD 520.1 million of 2025 same property RV revenue and USD 159.6 million of UK real property revenue, together USD 679.7 million, across 56,880 RV sites in North America and 53 UK parks. The release was dated 24 February 2026.

Equity LifeStyle Properties reported USD 217.7 million of RV and marina base rental income in the first half of 2025, including USD 30.0 million transient, in a release dated 21 July 2025. Its 455 properties hold 173,340 sites, with 26,000 membership camping sites alongside its RV sites. Kampgrounds of America franchises more than 500 campgrounds and sets the standard for branded roadside camping in the US and Canada.

European Camping Group runs 450 destinations in 13 countries under Homair, Eurocamp, Roan and Alannia, and keeps buying French sites; its latest three purchases added more than 1,000 pitches. Huttopia bought the 18 Terracamps nature campsites in France and targets 200 camping sites. Discovery Parks, majority owned by Australian Retirement Trust, reached 101 parks and wants to become an AUD 4.5 billion business by 2031. Douglas Insights estimates the top five disclosed camping groups hold well under 10% of global camping and caravanning revenue, which leaves wide room for roll-ups. Buyers keep coming.

Where are camping and caravanning nights concentrated, and which region gains fastest?

Europe leads with USD 15.48 billion, or 51.5% of 2025 camping and caravanning revenue, on about 500 million paid guest nights. Latin America grows fastest at 8.62% a year from a small base of new parks.

Europe reaches USD 24.60 billion by 2035 at 4.74% a year. France alone recorded 154 million camping nights in 2025, 37.2% of the EU total, followed by Spain at 49.8 million, Italy at 49.1 million, Germany at 45.0 million and the Netherlands at 26.8 million.

North America earns USD 9.83 billion, 32.7% of revenue, on 358.8 million modelled guest nights, and grows 5.86% a year to USD 17.37 billion. Some 52 million North American households camped in 2025, and US national parks logged 10,362,297 recreation overnight stays.

Asia Pacific contributes USD 3.83 billion, or 12.8%, and grows 7.31% to USD 7.76 billion. Australia is the anchor, with caravan park revenue of AUD 3.3 billion; Japan, China, New Zealand and Korea supply the rest of an estimated 175.5 million guest nights.

Latin America starts at USD 516.6 million, 1.7% of revenue, and rises 8.62% a year to USD 1.18 billion, the fastest regional rate, because organised campgrounds in Patagonia, Brazil and Mexico are still being built. The Middle East and Africa is the wildcard at USD 381.6 million, 1.3%, growing 7.21% to USD 765.2 million as desert glamping and safari camps sell premium tented nights.

Which licensing rules and package travel laws apply to campsite operators?

Camping and caravanning operators in Britain need a site licence under a 1960 Act, and EU campsites that sell bundled stays fall under the 2015 Package Travel Directive, applied from 1 July 2018.

The Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 prohibits using land as a caravan site without a site licence issued by the local authority, which sets conditions on spacing, fire points and sanitation. The 53 UK parks in the Sun Communities portfolio sit inside this licensing regime for camping and caravanning sites.

Directive (EU) 2015/2302, adopted on 25 November 2015, governs package travel and linked travel arrangements and has applied since 1 July 2018. A camping holiday that bundles a mobile home with a ferry crossing, as sold by Eurocamp, triggers the organiser duties and insolvency protection of the Directive.

France adds classification and coastal rules. Its star system shapes pricing: four and five star sites took 61.4% of third quarter 2025 camping nights. FNHPA submitted 10 legislative proposals in November 2025 to ease the relocation of campsites threatened by erosion and flooding.

How much of the camping year depends on the August peak?

August delivered 118 million EU camping and caravanning nights in 2025, 28.6% of the year, and June to August together carried 67.0%, so a campsite earns most of its revenue in about 13 weeks.

The peak drives pricing: ACSI deliberately quotes high-season rates, and its camping discount card sells the off-season gaps at fixed lower prices. Douglas Insights models that shoulder-season nights earn roughly half the peak yield, which is why the global average of USD 27.46 per guest night sits well below the EUR 45.07 nights-weighted family pitch price in the six largest EU camping countries.

What if campsite volume growth slips or pitch prices accelerate before 2035?

The camping and caravanning market lands between USD 42.49 billion and USD 61.53 billion in 2035 across our slower and faster cases. USD 51.68 billion is the base on 2.40% volume and 3.10% price growth.

The slower case assumes the 2025 jump in EU nights, which Eurostat put at 413 million in its 2 April 2026 release, fades back toward hotel-like growth and that pitch price rises cool to 2.2%. In the base case paid volume reaches 1.39 billion guest nights by 2035 and the realised yield USD 37.26. The faster case assumes glamping and rental units keep pulling in first-time campers and Asia Pacific park building speeds up.

A single point on guest-night growth is worth about USD 5.05 billion in 2035 camping revenue: 1.40% volume growth gives USD 46.85 billion, and 3.40% gives USD 56.95 billion. Published forecasts for camping and caravanning run from about 6.0% to 10.4% a year; our 5.57% sits below that band because it excludes gear, vehicle rental and spending outside the site.

Douglas Exclusive: the Campsite Pitch-Night Price Tracker

The Campsite Pitch-Night Price Tracker is a Douglas Insights model built from 35 inputs: 27 ACSI country prices for 2025, 6 Eurostat country night counts and 2 FNHPA turnover and night totals. It tracks what a camping family pays for one high-season caravan night, country by country.

The finding: weighted by 331.8 million camping nights in France, Spain, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal, the family pitch price is EUR 45.07 a night, or EUR 11.27 per person. The spread is wide. Croatia charges 3.2 times as much as Poland. The median country charges EUR 39.15, and 26 of 27 countries raised prices, which supports the 3.10% price leg in the camping and caravanning forecast.

The tracker also shows how far realised camping revenue runs above pitch fees. French campsites take EUR 31.86 per guest night against EUR 10.58 per person on the family pitch, a 3.0 times gap filled by mobile home rental, extras and services.

Methodology: how were campsite guest nights and pitch fees counted?

The camping and caravanning model multiplies 1.094 billion paid guest nights by USD 27.46 a night to reach USD 30.04 billion for 2025, built from five regional unit-and-yield pairs that add up exactly.

Europe takes the 413 million EU nights and adds 21% for the UK, Norway, Switzerland and other non-EU countries, giving 499.7 million nights at USD 30.98, which is 0.86 of the French realised yield of USD 36.03. North America uses 52 million camping households at 6.9 paid guest nights each, 358.8 million nights, at USD 27.40. Asia Pacific counts 82% of 57.9 million Australian visitor nights at USD 33.50 plus 128 million nights elsewhere at USD 17.50. Latin America carries 41.0 million nights at USD 12.60 and the Middle East and Africa 19.0 million at USD 19.80.

Cross-checks: the European yield sits 14% under the French figure, consistent with cheaper German, Dutch and Central European sites; the Sun Communities share of 2.3% matches a fragmented market; and the Australian caravan park revenue of about USD 2.13 billion falls inside our Asia Pacific total of USD 3.83 billion. The model covers 33 named countries, 35 tracker inputs and 6 operator disclosures. Related Douglas Insights studies include the Portable Inverter Generator Market and the Luggage Market.

Sources

1. Eurostat Nature calling: interest in camping and caravanning grows (2026)
2. Eurostat EU tourism 2024 nights by accommodation type (2025)
3. Sun Communities, SEC Sun Communities 2025 fourth quarter and full year results (2026)
4. ELS, SEC Equity LifeStyle Properties second quarter 2025 results (2025)
5. Kampgrounds of America 2025 Camping and Outdoor Hospitality Report (2025)
6. ACSI Camping prices in Europe 2025 (2025)
7. FNHPA FNHPA press kit 2026 (2026)
8. Caravan Industry Association of Australia State of the Industry 2026 (2026)
9. EUR-Lex Directive (EU) 2015/2302 on package travel (2015)
10. legislation.gov.uk Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 (1960)
11. National Park Service NPS visitation summary 2025 (2026)
12. Federal Reserve G.5A annual foreign exchange rates (2026)