Survey findings in a recent report from Outdoorsy debunked some long-held RV myths, uncovering new insights into American and millennial travel. In a historical shift, Americans say the freedom to do what they want and experience new things are vital to their happiness ahead of material possessions, and for nearly half of those surveyed, RV travel represents freedom and adventure.
More than two-thirds of Americans would rather travel to a new destination every week (68 percent) than have sex every day (32 percent). Additionally, 55 percent of Americans say they would travel by RV specifically to have an adventure, with approximately a quarter of respondents saying it allows them to escape reality (27 percent) and gives them cool stories to share (26 percent).
Americans also say the freedom to do what they want (95 percent) and the ability to experience new things (84 percent) are important to their happiness. These are more important than material possessions (53 percent) or sharing life on social media (33 percent). The desire for exploration and experience is particularly relevant for RVers who say that freedom to do what they want is an important aspect to their happiness, coming in at a staggering 99 percent and 98 percent respectively.
“RV travel is making a big comeback, driven by millennials and their love of the freedom it offers. While our survey results will be surprising to a lot of people, our team at Outdoorsy has known about this trend for years,” said Jeff Cavins, co-founder and CEO of Outdoorsy.Â
It’s about the journey, not the destination this summer.
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It’s always been a fascination to me that those who are comfortable financially always seem to rank financial security low on their roster of what brings them happiness. Kind of like Elle McPherson reminding us all of the importance of inner beauty.
It’s always been a fascination to me that those who are comfortable financially always seem to rank financial security low on their roster of what brings them happiness. Kind of like Elle McPherson reminding us all of the importance of innner beauty.
Generalizing about a shift in American culture or the the desires of mellinials seems flawed if the sampling comes from readers of an outdoors magazine. The majority of Americans live in a city, go to work, and worry about paying thier bills. They may answer a questionare in the way they would like to think, or think they think, but the reality might be that what they really want is to keep their job, enjoy the approval of their friends, colleagues, bosses and family, and minimize their fear of not paying their bills now and in the future. its more likely that freedom would not satisfy their psycological needs and is actually a subconciously scary thought. For most Americans the fantasy of desiring freedom ends at about 7pm on Sunday evening. And if that is not true, why do so many show up for work in the morning?
Jerry, the survey is from Outdoorsy, a huge person-to-person RV rental company. One of their goals is to “connect people with outdoor travel,” hence the name. (Well, that and the fact that when they started their business in 2014, “Outdoorsy.co” was available on GoDaddy for $15.98! 😀 ) —Diane at RVtravel.com
The survey results that show “it’s the journey, not the destination”, has really always been true. It takes different ppl different lengths of time to discover that. Weekend warriors generally are looking to get to their destination quickly so they have more time to “relax & enjoy”. PT and FT’ers usually don’t plan out an itinerary to the minute, and usually have or take the time to enjoy the journey. Most polls are not scientific because their respondents come from a specific or smaller sampling. It is limited to it’s respondents’ opinions and may not actually match the opinions of the majority.