The Weather-Proximity-Cognition (WPC) framework: A camping, weather, and climate change case

Camping climate resources: the camping climate index in the United States

“…Encouragingly for the camping sub-sector of tourism, seven of the nine climate regions saw a significant improvement in accounting for an average improvement of 20 ideal camping days over the 36-year study period. Most of the improvement in ideal days occurred in summer (see Figure 2) coinciding with the current highest camping demand season (Craig, 2019;Rice et al, 2019;Hewer et al, 2017;Jeuring, 2017). Conversely, the overall poor climate conditions for camping during winter marked the weakest improvement in the number of ideal days change.…”

“…The natural setting that makes camping a safer accommodation during a pandemic also underscores its sensitivity to climatic conditions (Craig & Feng, 2018;Craig, 2019;Brooker & Joppe, 2013;Hewer et al, 2017;Ma et al, 2020;Rice et al, 2019). Ma et al (2020) note that 'shifting climate-derived weather and seasonality trends highlight the potential positive (i.e.…”

“…Negative impacts include dangerous extreme weather trends (e.g. hurricanes, drought, extreme precipitation, extreme heat) in peak seasons and/or at popular camping destinations (Craig, 2019;Reidmiller et al, 2018). In fact, 'climate related impacts are expected to result in decreased [outdoor and/or seasonal] tourism revenue in some places and, for some communities, loss of identify' (Reidmiller et al, 2018, p. 32).…”

Camping, glamping, and coronavirus in the United States

“…Scale of events can have overriding effects (e.g., holidays, natural disasters) on camping ( Craig, 2019 ; Ma et al, 2020 ). This appears to be the case in the Northeast—where more than double the amount of COVID-19 cases were located at the time the survey was administrated—with only one of the behavioral control variables (i.e., overcrowding) significantly related to tent camping and glamping consideration.…”

“…Prior to the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), interest in camping—an outdoor accommodation and form of recreation ( Craig, 2019 )—among experienced and new campers was evident ( CCG, 2019 ). Present day travelers prefer distance from others, natural space, and outdoor recreation ( Hong et al, 2020 ; Rice et al, 2020 ), three drivers of camping decisions ( CCG, 2020 ).…”