The number of campgrounds nationwide has grown rapidly in recent years, reaching a new record of approximately 3,600. (Image courtesy of Yonhap
SEOUL, Nov. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – The number of campgrounds nationwide has grown rapidly in recent years, reaching a new record of approximately 3,600.
In particular, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, outdoor activities like camping have experienced a surge in popularity, leading to a significant rise in the demand for campsites. The number of campers has increased by over 1 million since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, marking the advent of the era of 5 million campers.
However, in tandem with the growth in the number of campers, incidents related to camping safety have also risen sharply. As the weather turns colder, extra caution is needed to prevent accidents such as fires and carbon monoxide poisoning.
According to the Korea Tourism Association on Monday, the number of campgrounds nationwide reached an all-time high of 3,591 as of the end of September, up by 386 from the previous year. These include both general campgrounds and auto campgrounds. The upward trend in the number of campgrounds has been ongoing, increasing from 2,367 in late 2019 to 2,534 in late 2020, 2,872 in late 2021, and 3,280 in late 2022. This figure surged to nearly 3,600 in late September 2023.
The figure for late September 2023 represents an increase of 1,234 compared to the number recorded in late September 2019 (2,357) before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sharp rise in the number of campgrounds can be attributed to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of campgrounds increased by 167. This growth accelerated in subsequent years, with the number of campgrounds increasing by 339 in 2021 and 407 in 2022.
Breaking down the numbers by region, Gyeonggi Province had the largest number of campgrounds with 835, followed by Gangwon with 719, North Gyeongsang Province with 438, South Gyeongsang Province with 369, South Chungcheong Province with 319, North Chungcheong Province with 269, South Jeolla Province with 205, and North Jeolla Province with 161.
In terms of general campgrounds, Gyeonggi Province led with 754, while South Gyeongsang Province had the highest number of auto campgrounds with 12.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
