Glamping, as an emerging trend in the global travel market, is expected to continue to grow in the future due to its ability to adapt to market trends and provide unique experiences, despite facing seasonal, human and operational challenges. Large companies that can expand glamping products in the form of soft brands will have a competitive advantage of scale in the market.
Glamping, as an alternative to traditional hotels and homestays, is currently accelerating in the world, especially in Europe and the United States. European countries such as Austria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Serbia and Switzerland, for example, have seen a surge in investment and returns to glamping, with daily rates rivaling or exceeding those of hotels.
A February report by Grand View Research, a SAN Francisco-based market research firm, predicts that the global glamping industry will be worth $5.94 billion by 2030, a compound annual growth rate of 10.9%. The glamping market will be worth $2.35 billion in 2021. Among them, the "tree house" category alone is expected to reach a value of $363.6 million in 2028. Europe currently holds the largest share of the glamping market, accounting for 35.1% in 2021.
In response to this growing demand, many European and American companies have stepped up their investments in this area and introduced an increasingly diverse range of products, such as offering glamping options such as vintage motorhomes, wilderness tents, nostalgic horse-drawn carriages and riverside huts, or converting existing campsites into luxury camping resorts. It also has a range of facilities including outdoor jacuzzi, restaurant, coffee shop, relaxation area and yoga platform. Eco-friendly and sustainable details, such as electric charging equipment and bird houses, add to the appeal of the glamping experience.
China's glamping market concentrated popular destination product richness still needs to be strengthened
China's glamping market, which benefits from a rich and diverse natural landscape and cultural heritage such as magnificent mountains, charming lakes and mysterious ancient towns, as well as rising middle class incomes and changing consumer attitudes towards travel, will also thrive in 2021, but the market is mainly concentrated in a few popular tourist destinations such as Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou. During the epidemic period, due to the restrictions on outbound travel, domestic tourism has developed rapidly, and glamping has also met the development opportunities to meet the needs of the local tourism market. However, some experts pointed out that in addition to seasonal limitations (such as cold weather in winter or high temperature and rainfall in summer), rising management and operating costs and human resources and other issues, the lack of product richness is also a major challenge for the development of China's glamping market in an increasingly competitive environment.
Globally, experts believe that the glamping market, while still a niche market, has the flexibility to adapt to market trends and the ability to provide unique immersive experiences that are in line with consumers' changing travel attitudes. Although facing challenges such as weather conditions, limited operating seasons and manpower management, glamping products are expected to continue to grow in the future in a diversified direction to provide unforgettable travel destination experiences for tourists who seek luxury, nature and tranquility. As glamping becomes more popular, distribution capabilities will be critical to its scale, and large companies that can retain local flair in the form of soft brands while leveraging economies of scale to expand their glamping offerings will have an advantage in this area.
