Applying a phenology algorithm to establish camping seasons in the United States

ABSTRACT

Camping is both an accommodation and an outdoor form of recreation that contributes over $150 billion to the United States economy annually. However, camping seasons have not previously been analyzed due to the lack of high-resolution, daily camping behavioral data. We address this gap applying a phenology algorithm to the analysis of daily camping occupancy data at 25 for-profit campgrounds. Phenology is the field of study that explores natural stages (i.e. seasons and cycles). Doing so, we establish the natural onset and durations of camping seasons. Results indicate that (1) the duration of camping season expanded at most campgrounds in the United States, often corresponding with the early onset of the camping season corresponding with the spring meteorological season, and (2) climate is related to the onset of camping seasons for some but not all campgrounds.

KEYWORDS:

• Camping
• seasonality
• nature-based tourism
• phenophase season

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The proprietary data used for the study was provided by a for-profit business for scholarly purposes. To maintain confidentiality and information that the firm does not publicly disclose (i.e. camping occupancy), the data is not available for public consumption.