Comfort Camping Investment Opportunity Assessment for Alberta Parks

2017 | AB

Over the past decade, comfort camping, known to many as ‘glamping’, has become increasingly popular as people seek out comforts not offered by traditional tent camping. Looking to offer more options to users, Parks Alberta retained McElhanney to study the investment opportunity of comfort camping within the provincial parks.

While there are currently a number of comfort camping options available within Alberta, the majority of the offerings are within the private sector. McElhanney, with its subconsultants, assessed the inventory of comfort camping sites in the province and provided Alberta Parks and Alberta Culture and Tourism with information required to strategically expand their comfort camping offering. The study also explored the various user groups who might choose to comfort camp and identified the characteristics that each target group would respond best to; from structure type to location. Economic, environmental, and social sustainability principles were integrated into each element of the McElhanney report which recommended potential investment sites.

This report was co-submitted with the Legacy Tourism Group.

In 2019, the project earned a Project Excellence Award from the Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals. Read more about this project here.