Cotswold Outdoor: Camping Sales Skyrocket in Monmouthshire as the Welsh Take Up Camping

A new study by Cotswold Outdoor sheds light on the UK’s camping market and reveals the counties with the most camping equipment purchases

As ‘Stay at Home’ rules continued to dominate our lives over the past year and a half, the great staycation has dominated our holiday plans. Whilst staying in quirky tiny homes might take your fancy, camping is undeniably a practical and grounding alternative. After all, the UK has a range of natural beauty spots to pitch up at.

To celebrate the Great British camping craze Cotswold Outdoor have released a new study
showing where Britain’s most keen campers are from. The outdoor giants have analysed
country-wide data and localised Google Trends to see how camping popularity has increased.

● Conwy residents have been crowned as Wales’ keenest campers – the residents have
purchased the most camping equipment per capita over the past 2 years.
● The least enthusiastic campers were residents of Powys – the county had the lowest
number of camping equipment purchases per capita in Wales, as well as in the UK.
● Monmouthshire saw an astonishing 700% increase in camping equipment sales
between 2019 and 2020, the highest in the whole of the UK, indicating that residents
took up camping during lockdown.
● Overall, the UK saw a 40% increase in camping equipment sales over the pandemic,
with purchases of camping equipment in Wales up 27%

Investing in New Equipment

Research shows that residents in Conwy have been named as Wale’s Keenest Campers with
the most camping equipment purchases in the country.

The Cotswold Outdoor study also reveals that Cardiff, Ceredigion, Newport and Wrexham
residents are among the top 5 keenest campers of Wales. And at the other end of the scale
residents of Powys were the least keen to get outdoors and hit the campsites, in Wales but also in the whole of the UK

Sales Increases in Wales and around the UK

Campers in Wales are upgrading their equipment as camping related purchases have goneup by 27% in Wales, and by 40% in the whole of the UK.
It is campers in Monmouthshire who have increased their camping equipment purchases more than any other Welsh county, or any other county in the UK as sales have skyrocketed by 700% over the past two years!

It looks as if more and more families are heading off on camping sleeping bags for children up by
110% compared to pre-pandemic figures

Camping is Trending

Monthly camping related searches
peaked in May 2021 when they
were 400% higher than on an
average month. Searches for
flights, however, were cut by more
than half of the average monthly
search volumes. Camping advice
searches have remained above
averages by at least 90% since the
pandemic hit the UK.

Cotswold Outdoor have created an interactive tool, which allows users to select their home county to see how eager their fellow residents have been at going camping.