Cracking the Code: What the 5 Top Glamping Hotspots Say about Acquisition Strategy
Welcome back to A bit of Whit, strap on your highest heels, and join me for a calculated reconnaissance of the nation’s top glamping hotspots. This isn't just another list—it's about understanding why these five locations made the cut and the insights they offer. What secrets do they hold? Are these darts on a map or pinnacles of sound business strategy? Also, what do these areas teach us, and should you count these as opportunities or oversaturated?
Let’s start with rankings; according to Sage Outdoors’ Glamping Map by region, the largest saturation of glamping locations are as follows:
Catskills, NY
Asheville / Great Smokies, TN
Hill Country, TX
Zion/Arches ,UT
Greater Denver / Rockies, CO
These names show that most brands anchor their acquisition strategy to natural POIs (points of interest), mainly national parks. Rightfully so, National parks are the nation’s top purveyor of outdoor outings. With staggering 2023 visitation numbers like 13,297,647 at the Great Smoky Mountains, 4,623,238 in Zion, and 4,115,837 in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, you don’t need to be geniuses to understand why glamping works here when you have a 4+ million visitation market built around you.
As apparent as this investment thesis is, there has been a lot of talk about declining visitation numbers over the last few years. Are you looking at the national park visitation numbers? National Park visitation has continued to rise every year since 2020. Since 2022, I have often heard people suggest a decline. These comments are either assumptions, ignorance, or an excuse—but definitely not factual. From region to region, there are idiosyncrasies, but overall visitation to parks continues to grow, even by the months. In 2023, the total National Park visitation was only 2 million visitors off the obscene record for the NPS’ centennial year.
National parks are, by far, a great place to put glamping. They have robust visitation and are mostly known for their outdoor interests. Some might say that if you locate yourself by a national park, you compete with the park itself. Oh contrare, as any feeder town will tell you, it’s a compliment, not a supplement. Even more, looking at The Future of Federal Funding Report from the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) released June 4th, it indicates a concerning forecast for federal recreation funding versus the mounting costs of deferred maintenance. I’d say the national park opportunity is only growing.
The report says that by 2043, the funding gap could escalate to $34 billion if current trends persist: recreation spending is projected to grow at an annual inflation rate of 2.8%, while the deferred maintenance backlog could increase by 3.4% each year. The report highlights a critical gap between the demand for services within the parks and the available funding, emphasizing the increasing reliance on the private sector to bridge the demand gap. Much of this opportunity will fall to the outskirts of the parks and the ability to optimize commissionaire opportunities inside.
In the next decade, national park glory will, in my opinion, be won at the “entrance game.” What is the entrance game? Well, to regulate entry of the parks and keep visitation contained, parks rely on designated entrances. Usually, one entrance is the main funnel. However, since COVID, patrons, the federal government, and surrounding communities have brought people into secondary entrances. These secondary entrances are brimming with growth potential and are often more amenable to development with the hope of raising tourism dollars.
Need proof? In my home state of Montana, in Glacier, you must register your vehicle for entry at the west entrance to go on the Going-to-the-Sun Road; however, the east entrance (same road, people) has no registration: the same national park, the same road, just a different side. Not to say there isn’t value in main entrance development, but you risk more competition, higher real estate prices, and often increased scrutiny and hurdles in development.
Now, let’s look at the Catskills. What position does glamping take here? Though not a national park, this area is a beacon of natural splendor. In scale and ecological complexity, the Catskills echo the grandeur of many federally protected parks, making them one of the largest natural areas in the eastern United States. According to a comprehensive 2019 study, the Catskill-Delaware Watershed and Catskill Park attracted approximately 2.711 million visitors annuallyWhile not done since, I’d bet a cool pair of Manolo’s that visitation has not gone down post-COVID. Located just a three-hour drive from the bustling urban sprawl of New York City, it’s no wonder it ranks number one in attracting glamping businesses.
As the largest concentration of glamping locations, areas adjacent to large population centers can be particularly advantageous, providing a quick and convenient escape for city dwellers. These locations often boast unique landscapes, recreational opportunities, and cultural attractions that rival national parks. Proximity to urban hubs ensures a steady stream of visitors and supports higher rates of repeat business as city residents seek frequent retreats without the hassle of long-distance travel.
Though this is one area where demand may be high, the region's potential as a glamping destination comes with cautionary tales and some major red flags for new entrants. While still relatively untapped, early glamping development has sparked local awareness and concern. Issues around zoning and market entry are being expedited with fervor, and the Catskills—home to Woodstock, infamous for its historical protests—have a well-documented legacy of community activism. Developers eyeing this region must tread carefully.
Our last hotspot is an examination of Hill Country, TX, with Fredericksburg in its center. At first glance, the traditional glamping investment thesis and points of interest (POI) acquisition strategies might dismiss Fredericksburg as unsuitable. The region boasts no national parks, and the highest visitation to a natural local attraction is Enchanted Rock, with a mere 300k visitors in 2023. So, what is so special about this area for glamping? Why is the fruit so ripe for picking?
First and foremost, Fredericksburg sits in development-friendly Texas, where red tape is as scarce as snowfall in July. In residential development alone, the state has 19% more building permits than the second-place state of Florida. It also has a year-round temperate climate as climates go these days. Development-friendly and full-season building are most desirable features, especially if you have investors from the get-go.
The area is a haven for those fleeing the urban sprawl of nearby San Antonio and Austin, less than an hour away. This proximity to major population centers is key—it transforms Fredericksburg into an accessible retreat, much like the Catskills, for city dwellers craving a slice of the great outdoors without the lengthy commute. In fact, Fredericksburg’s top two industries are hospitality and retail, representing 17 and 15 percent of the economy, respectively. The city doesn't just flirt with tourism; it marries it with wine, breweries, and Bavarian-themed everything.
Speaking of marrying, the hills it sits in are also the destination for many Texas weddings, making Fredericksburg and the surrounding area the wedding capital of Texas. Regarding rankings, Texas is number two in weddings by state. When I hear wedding, I don’t hear bells, I hear bills – lots of them. And let's not overlook the corporate crowds that trail the wedding guests -where there are bells, there can also be Dells! Fredericksburg’s charm lures midweek meetings and retreats, filling those potentially quiet periods with lively conferences and team-building escapes.
One might wonder, would I ever build in the top 5 glamping hotspots? Isn’t it oversaturated? According to Connor Schwab at Sage Outdoors, “So you might be tempted to say that [Hill Country] is overbuilt or saturated, but if you compare to just hotels, glamping only makes up about 00.3% of the hotel market supply.”
It’s a good equation to keep in mind if ever concerned about the saturation of glamping in an area. While there aren’t enough case studies to know where the pure demand for glamping vs hotels sits, it’s safe to say that .3% is not.
Glamping is still an emerging category, and having a second, fifth, or even tenth (also remember the average glamping provider has less than 10 sites) purveyor can help establish a segment. Another glamping location can legitimize your investment and bring down awareness-based marketing costs. I am not suggesting that competition doesn’t exist; competition and over-saturation are two very different things. Over saturation means the supply of the product becomes much higher than the demand. My guess is that if the business is slow, the awareness and channel distribution strategy hasn’t adequately paced with the hotel competitors, not that market saturation has happened in any of these places.
For our purposes here, the real challenge is not glamping providers, my friends, but rather the complex terrain of tourism. You must navigate this landscape with strategic acumen, understanding that our true opponents are the myriad factors that influence it—regulatory hurdles, community relationships, and the ever-evolving demands of tourists. Reflect on the cliché "location, location, location." It transcends mere geography. It's about positioning within a nexus of consumer flows and local economies. It's about fitting your unique business needs to the unique contexts of each region and optimizing your offerings to integrate into these vibrant ecosystems. Our top five lay out a map, but can you read the key?
… it's your move.
Until next time, Keep your head, heels, and standards high, my friends!
1 Note these numbers are not indicative of multi-use campgrounds
2 https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/experience/national-parks/2024/03/31/national-parks-most-visited-trivia/73089990007/
3 https://www.nps.gov/subjects/socialscience/visitor-use-statistics-dashboard.htm
4 https://recreationroundtable.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ORR030_RecFunding_Jun24_Rd2.pdf
5 https://www.recordonline.com/story/news/2019/12/13/study-catskills-remote-areas-draw/2040462007/
6 Fredericksburg 2023 Annual Report (https://assets.simpleviewinc.com/simpleview/image/upload/v1/clients/fredericksburgtx/FCVB_AnnualReport_2023_1__eb7f60ad-74b1-48a7-bb1a-dc92df2f40c6.pdf)
7 Statista, Residential Building Permits by State 2022 https://www.statista.com/statistics/1199034/housing-permits-issued-state-usa/
8 https://wedding.report/index.cfm/action/wedding_statistics/view/market/id/48/idtype/s/location/Texas/
