RV Travelers Enjoy Holidays on Wheels
16 November 1999
RV Travelers Enjoy Holidays on Wheels RESTON, Va., Nov. 16 -- While other holiday travelers wait in
line for overcrowded flights, recreation vehicle (RV) owners will be cruising
in comfort to grandmother's house, according to a newly released survey.
The upcoming holiday season will be a busy travel period for the nation's
9.3 million RV owners, says the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association's
(RVIA) Campfire Canvass, a national survey conducted by Robert Hitlin Research
Associates.
Thanksgiving weekend will be the busiest time, with 42 percent of RV
owners hitting the roads; 25 percent during Christmas and 16 percent over New
Year's.
"RVs are ideal for travel any time of the year, especially during the
holiday season," says RVIA President David J. Humphreys. "They provide a
comfortable and stress-free way to visit relatives or go on vacation. RVers
don't have to worry about crowded airports, flight delays or juggling hotel
reservations, because they take their homes with them."
RVs also help alleviate elevated levels of stress linked to the holidays
by healthcare experts. Ninety-three percent of the RV owners responding to
the survey said that life is less stressful when they travel in their RVs;
88 percent reported feeling healthier.
"RV travelers can visit relatives or friends and not have to worry about
imposing on them, because all the living essentials they need are on board the
RV -- bedroom, bath and kitchen," says Humphreys. "They can cook a turkey in
the RV and serve it there, or bring it to the home they're visiting. They
also have ample storage space to transport holiday gifts."
Today's state-of-the-art RVs contain thermostatically controlled air
conditioning and heating systems that allow RVers to travel comfortably
anywhere in the country, whether it's Thanksgiving in New England or Christmas
in Palm Springs, CA. RVs also feature other high-tech innovations including
satellite dishes to watch those holiday bowl games, global positioning systems
to help locate long-lost relatives and rooms that slide out at the push of a
button to almost double living space.
The survey also revealed that 43 percent of RVers will travel with
children during the holidays. And keeping them happy and entertained is no
problem for parents and grandparents traveling in an RV. With kitchen,
bathroom, dining and sleeping facilities on board, kids feel right at home.
Kids also can take advantage of on-board TV, VCR and stereo.
RV travel not only minimizes stress and maximizes fun for parents, it also
fosters family togetherness so often absent in the hectic daily lives of
American families, according to a noted family travel expert.
"At home we often don't get the chance to sit down and eat dinner
together," says Christine Loomis, author of "Fodor's Family Adventures."
"When we travel in an RV, we eat and talk together every day. The only
schedule we're on is our own."
Like the Loomis family, millions of people have discovered the advantages
of RV travel. RVs are soaring in popularity, with baby boomers and young
families fueling a 21-year high in sales.
A free "getting started" video full of RV shopping, rental and travel
tips, plus a list of local dealers and campgrounds, is available by calling
888-GO-RVing. More detailed information, including a directory of RV shows,
publications, rental sources and clubs, can be obtained by writing RVIA, P.O.
Box 2999, Dept. P, Reston, VA 20195. Internet users can order these and other
publications on-line, as well as access extensive information, news and tips
on RV travel at http://www.rvia.org and http://www.GoRVing.com.
The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association is the national organization
representing more than 500 manufacturers and component suppliers, who combine
to produce 95 percent of all RVs made in the United States.
