Center Yourself In Greene  

about us

contact us

site map

 

check  all our  free online publications

 

find it here

Business & Community Directory

Community Calendar

Advertise
with Us

Ask Alex
News, Weather,
Fuel, Traffic Updates
Greene Life
Do Business in Greene
Tourism
Faces, Places & Spaces -
Photo Essays
Recent Issues
Free Newsletter
Our Regular Sections &
Archive
Privacy, Disclaimers, Terms of Use
 

Check This Week's
Featured Advertiser
& All Our
Center Yourself  In Greene Businesses

 

traveltravelTravel
Getting there from here
AND back

Okay, I admit, my idea of roughing it IS a hotel without room service but for those more adventuresome and wanting to spend more of their vacation budget on activities, camping can be a wonderful option. 

With camping facilities everywhere and many more luxurious than some hotels you may have occupied, Americans in this study found tent travel a good way to make vacation dollars travel further.tent travel

The Summer of Our Discount Tent

Ask.com and ReserveAmerica Report Surge in Camping Trends as Consumers Look to Stretch Their Dollars This Summer

Oakland, Calif., July 21, 2008 - Americans are planning a summer full of credit crunch camping - with families opting to ditch expensive hotels and exotic destinations as gas prices continue to soar.

With just a little over a month left before kids all across America head back to school, popular search engine Ask.com is experiencing a surge of questions related to camping vacations, campsites and camping equipment. Ask.com has approximately 32 million unique monthly U.S. visitors (comScore, May 2008). tent travel

Search terms including "camping vacations," "best family campsites" and "cheap tents" have more than doubled in the past 30 days. Additionally, the queries "How to build a campfire," "roasting hotdogs" and "how to make s'mores" have also doubled in the same time period.

"Search engines are great social barometers, and this year it's a case of thrift spending as Americans choose camping over pampering," said Andi Riggs, Vice President and Search Trends Expert at Ask.com. "Usually at this time of year we see a huge jump in queries for vacation packages of all kinds, but this year there has been a phenomenal spike in interest in cheap tents... and also where to pitch them," saystent travel Riggs.

According to a recent poll conducted by ReserveAmerica, the United States' leading recreation reservation service, 16% of those polled chose camping solely because of the cost savings versus a typical family vacation. Thirty percent chose camping because of high gas prices, and 30% said they are camping closer to home this year.*

"Our advanced online reservations for campgrounds are up 8% this summer as compared to last, and the biggest trend we're seeing is people looking for parks and camping options within 100 miles of their home," said John McDonald, VP of Marketing & Business tent travelDevelopment for ReserveAmerica, which is used by more than 17 million campers to research and plan trips each year.

Among travel-related searches on Ask.com, "theme park ticket discounts" and "cheap flights" tie for #1 in July, replacing the traditional top query, "last minute vacation packages," which fell to #5.

One thing remains certain: wherever Americans may be headed this summer, rising gas costs are sure to take a toll on the budget. To find the best gas prices close to home and on the road, Ask.com visitors who enter the search term "cheap gas" and then enter their zip code into the Smart Answer module presented at the top of the results page can find the cheapest gas deals (1).

About Ask.com tent travel

Ask.com, a wholly-owned business of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI), is one of the leading general search engines on the Internet. The Ask network of sites has more than 127 million worldwide unique monthly users, according to May 2008 comScore data. Ask.com syndicates its search technology and advertising solutions to a network of affiliate partners.

About ReserveAmerica

ReserveAmerica is North America's leading camping reservation and campground management solutions provider. ReserveAmerica specializes in complete reservations solutions, stand-alone call center/database management tools, online reservations solutions and park software solutions. The Company manages the largest reservable campsite inventory with partnerships throughout North America. ReserveAmerica is an operating business of IAC (Nasdaq: IACI).

* Culled from 2,000 responses to a poll of ReserveAmerica customers, conducted summer 2008.

(1) Pricing data is obtained from 3rd party sources. Ask.com makes no representations, warranties and/or covenants as to the accuracy, timeliness, coverage, and/or completeness of such data.

Go to the Travel Index

 Back to top 
Go to Virginia Greene         
Go to Greene Lite

logo
Help keep our pages free to you. 
Please support our
Center Yourself in Greene
business advertisers.

 

Help keep our magazines free by supporting  our
advertising partners.

Please check at least one of our advertisers each time you visit.

 We thank you for your help.

 

Ryan
Funeral
Home

Serving Central Virginia  Families Since 1964

Current Visitations and Services

 

Find what you need, want or dream of. 

Check out the many fine businesses on our
Center Yourself in Greene Business Index

 

Shop the Best of the Blue Ridge and More with
The Greene Gift Guide

Today's Featured Business
 

Mick Carrier

Computer
 
and

Internet Services
When you absolutely want to speak to a real, live person about your personal computer

 


Let's Grow Greene

 

Makes Our Readers - Your Customers

Your Ad, only $50 monthly

Find your Heart Right Here in Virginia
Heart of Virginia

 Back to top 
Go to Virginia Greene          Go to Greene Lite