2022 Outdoor Recreation Market: Trends & Challenges

Much like online shopping, Netflix binging, and toilet paper sales, outdoor recreation surged during the pandemic. Many people discovered a sort of “forced leisure,” as time on their schedules suddenly freed up with all the canceled activities and work-from-home mandates.

When faced with the same four walls every day, that neighborhood park or local trail started looking much more attractive than it did the year before. And for those folks with energetic kids, getting outside – anywhere – just OUTSIDE – became a necessity, not a luxury.

As spring turned to summer, this trend only continued. Traditional vacations went on hold, and RV sales skyrocketed. ATVs, UTVs, motorcycles, even regular ol’ bicycles became hot commodities. Were you looking to start kayaking? Ha, good luck finding one.

But business is more or less back in session now. The rat race, restarted. And unfortunately, many of us who found a little low-budget anxiety treatment in the Great Outdoors are back to banging our heads against the cubicle wall (or home office).

That’s not to say we aren’t trying to maintain our precious hold on outside fun.

Turns Out, Playing Outside Is Still Pretty Great.

The National Park Service showed a 25.3% increase in visitors during 2021, as compared to 2020. And while that’s not quite as high as pre-pandemic levels, certain individual parks saw record-high visitation, like Maine’s Acadia National Park (up 74% from April/May 2019) and Utah’s Canyonlands National Park (up 30%).

Similarly, a recent RVIA survey found that 36% of America’s “leisure travelers,” or about 65 million people, plan to go RVing this year. As for motorized fun of the off-road variety, demand is as high as ever – even if supplies are tight.

For example, Polaris – which grew its base by a whopping 40% during the pandemic – went on to deliver record sales and earnings in 2021. In fact, full year reported and adjusted sales increased 17% to a record $8,198 million. While sales dipped significantly in early 2022, due to supply chain constraints, the brand’s current retail sales are still strong compared to pre-COVID levels. BRP (parent company to popular brands like Can-Am and Ski-Doo) reports a similar rollercoaster ride of surging sales, sustained demand, and dismal supply.

Despite the challenges, recent data from ResearchAndMarkets.com forecasts the ATV/UTV market to grow by 6.65% annually between 2022 and 2028.

Other notable trends?

• Hiking trails remain crowded.
• Hunting and fishing license sales are up.
• Cycling stayed popular throughout 2021, with e-bikes popping up everywhere.

On the whole, it seems people are doing what they can to keep up the outside hobbies they started during quarantine. According to recent data from Penn State’s Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management in collaboration with the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, nearly half of adults from across the United States now participate in outdoor recreation on at least a monthly basis. About 20% of those people are thought to be new to outdoor recreation during the pandemic.

In 2020, 7.1 million more Americans participated in outdoor recreation than in the year prior. The biggest draws? Hiking, camping, fishing and biking. – Outdoor Industry Association

Unfortunately, these short-term gains don’t make up for long-term challenges faced by the entire outdoor industry.

Not All Sunshine & Flowers

Now that restrictions on travel, concerts, resorts and the like are lifted, holding onto outdoor “consumers” post-COVID is tricky.

And let’s be real: they are consumers and outdoor recreation is a business – a very lucrative one.

Information from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that the outdoor recreation economy accounted for 1.8% (or $374.3 billion) of current-dollar gross domestic product (GDP) for the U.S. in 2020. It also generated $689 billion in consumer spending, as well as 4.3 million jobs.

While a good-size chunk of that belongs to the motorized vehicle industry, there is still a lot of money to be made on outdoor gear and apparel, resort and lodge accommodations, and tour guiding services, just to name a few.

With inflation currently at 9.1%, however, consumers have less discretionary funds to spend in this growing industry. State and local budgets are starting to feel the pinch too, resulting in less robust parks and rec opportunities for tax payers.

These difficulties sit atop several existing issues the outdoor recreation industry has been working to address for years, including making outdoor experiences more accessible for everyone regardless of demographic.

In a recent report, the Outdoor Foundation also highlighted a steady, long-term decline of the average number of outings per outdoor participant, as well as a declining “intensity” among participants. (That is to say, there are a lot of casual adventurers out there who enjoy dipping their toe into outdoor recreation, but a dwindling number of devotees who participate more than 2x a week.)

2022 Outdoor Recreation Trends

As the outdoor recreation industry attempts to maintain its gains and overcome obstacles, here are some trends we see emerging.

Access for All

As noted, the industry has long grappled with how to attract more people to the Great Outdoors. Recently, however, traditional marketing efforts started adopting noticeably more socially-conscious messaging. This is because market researchers noticed a glaring lack of diversity among outdoor enthusiasts.

Indeed, while the pandemic attracted more outdoor participants from a variety of backgrounds, there are still large disparities around race, income, and zip code.

Research from the Outdoor Industry Association reveals new outdoor participants are largely motivated by outdoor recreation opportunities within 10 miles of their homes. However, “more than 100 million Americans do not live within walking distance of a park or green space,” notes the association. “Further, underserved communities often lack the resources and funds to invest in outdoor areas, leaving many people three times more likely to live in nature-deprived places.”

Believing that no one should be denied the transformative experiences of Nature (not to mention the very real health benefits), many organizations are devoting funds to improving everyone’s access to nature, no matter who you are or where you live.

These efforts run the full gamut, too. Some involve infrastructure projects, like “parkifying” underpasses and transforming abandoned buildings into green spaces, or simply creating more physical access points for visitors. Others are more administrative, like hiring more diverse workforces, offering more paid internships, and even just being a little more lenient with those no-dogs-allowed rules.

Government Support

The Biden Administration announced on July 21, 2022 the reestablishment of the Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation – or FICOR. The council’s return will make “Access for All” initiatives easier to implement on America’s public lands and waters.

Basically, FICOR can address issues like poor access, crumbling infrastructure, and climate impacts amid rising interest and visitation. This, in turn, should help make outdoor recreation a more accessible, equitable, and positive experience for a lot of Americans (and help the outdoor industry economy in the process).

First created in 2011 by the Obama administration, FICOR succeeded in several important initiatives before it was suspended during the Trump administration. The council created Recreation.gov, which allows people to book campgrounds, plan trips, and reserve experiences at federal lands, and also established the Every Kid Outdoors Pass, which provides every fourth grader (and their family) free access to hundreds of parks, lands, and waters for an entire year. It also began tracking outdoor recreation as an official economic sector, unlocking a lot of useful data on the industry’s economic impact.

Like the private organizations working toward the same goal, the government’s efforts will run the gamut. Think: everything from upgrading campgrounds and visitor centers, to bolstering education and career opportunities in the industry, to better cooperating with State, Tribal, territorial, and local governments.

Technology & Data

The truth is: If you want people to put down their smartphones and engage with nature, you need to make nature as engaging as a smartphone – and that’s a tall order. Outdoor industry folks are already thinking ahead, though, and instituting a variety of tech-friendly changes.

Making outdoor spaces more Facebook and Instagram-worthy.

In addition to keeping parks and recreation areas beautiful and photo-ready, savvy staff members are keeping Wi-Fi connections in tip-top shape, and setting up check-in locations or geofilters so social users can further personalize their content. Besides, the more people see their online friends enjoying the outdoors, the more likely they are to follow suit.

Virtual learning experiences.

There’s no way around it: Tech simply makes learning experiences more engaging and fun for kids. That’s why companies like Biba and Agents of Discovery are helping teachers and parents use three-dimensional augmented reality to “gamify” outdoor experiences by creating imaginative and educational missions, like scavenger hunts and activity guides.

Putting drones to work.

Since it’s easier for drones to access hard-to-reach places, some parks are using them to surveil property or inspect buildings. Others are using them to apply pesticides and fungicides, or even to seed pollinator meadows.

Less Workers

“Whether it is an effect of The Great Resignation or not, agencies are suddenly without vitally needed part-time staff who work as lifeguards and provide after-school programming and childcare, to name two examples,” explains the National Recreation and Park Association.

“Workers who have multiple opportunities for jobs with better pay and more flexible hours may like the purpose-driven aspects of park and recreation work, but they may find better pay, better benefits and more flexible hours in other jobs of the gig economy.”

Indeed, The New York Times reported in June that lifeguards were “frustratingly scarce” this year. As a result, tens of thousands of pools were left closed and beaches unguarded. Many parks can’t even find seasonal employees, meaning landscapes and facilities can’t be maintained to the normal standards. (Hence, why many locations are opting for those helpful drones – or even autonomous lawnmowers.)

More Advocacy to Keep Trails Open

As UTV popularity grows, so does the impact these vehicles can leave on the environment. Organizations like ORBA, Tread Lightly!, and SEMA work hard to ensure off-road enthusiasts can still enjoy public land access – no matter what kind of 4×4 they drive.

In addition to encouraging smart and safe trail use through educational initiatives, these groups work with local clubs to keep off-roaders informed of changing rules and regulations. When trails close, they work hard to find out why, and then work with land managers and government agencies to find a solution. Sometimes, they even lobby congress.

SEMA, in particular, has been very active on Capitol Hill lately, meeting with lawmakers to raise awareness on industry issues. Efforts include throwing support behind infrastructure investments, passing the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports (RPM) Act, and of course, protecting motorized off-road recreational access.

As the government begins passing more serious climate change legislation, you can expect these advocacy efforts to not only ramp up but also grow more nuanced as both sides try to work together on what can often seem like conflicting goals.

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