As it stands, search and social interest in camping is a little above where it was last year. This potentially means camping will be an even bigger hit in 2021. This isn’t too surprising, especially as people remain cautious about travelling too far afield, and many countries are still experiencing or showing signs of dangerous levels of Covid-19.

This also follows our previous research into people living vicariously through YouTubers and other creators. We specifically spoke to Simon, who produces camping videos, who told us about the spike in interest in his channel during lockdown. It seems likely people are champing at the bit to transition from passive spectator to active camper.

Speaking of YouTube, there’s another sign camping is going to be massive this year. Last week saw the highest amount of YouTube camping searches ever. Clearly people are on the lookout for advice, tips, and inspiration.

Of course, seeing the effort needed for a truly successful camping trip will put a few people off. Then again, there’s always glamping, which is also seeing very high levels of search interest at the moment.

Beyond getting out into nature and breathing some fresh air, is there anything else drawing people to tents and campfires?

We looked at our mentions around going camping to see if any topics stood out. One of the biggest was the internet, with 19k mentions including the topic alongside camping being posted over the last year.

The general theme of these? It’s not complaining about the lack of internet on campsites. Instead, it’s the prospect of leaving the internet behind. With the rise of doomscrolling and ‘Zoom fatigue’, we can’t say we’re surprised.

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Stay safe,

The Brandwatch React team