MDKMDK wrote:
According to the RV industry sales folks, there has been a surge in US newbies entering the RV arena, as a result of the fear of picking up the virus on a more typical drive/fly/hotel/resort style vacation. Some RV retailers can't keep inventory on their lots has also been mentioned.
Dateline Aug 26th 2020 NASDAQ.com
RV Sales Record Best July Data in 40 Years, Outlook Looks Rosy and
RVing Gets Red Hot Amid CoronavirusBlowout RV shipments were recorded in July, setting a new record. Markedly, the industry delivered the strongest July "performance in four decades. Total shipments soared 53.5% year over year to 43,035 units."....its almost impossible for us to find a spot in an RV locale (our local national parks, or, any park for that matter) in our entire region, stretching from the Maine/Vermont/NY border all the way up to the near Arctic in Labrador. I read the same situation from northern Vermont to the Florida Keys. RV parks (for the most part) are doing very, very well across North America (again, for the most part, but not in every corner).
....RVing is
the thing to be doing, to "get out of the house" across the entire Continent. Millions and millions of high income DINKS (double income, no kids) with high-end jobs who can work exclusively from home (or, from anywhere for that matter; including from a diesel pusher, 5er, tow trailer, large truck camper with slides) are out on the road across America (and, parts of Canada) working in their rigs.
I expect (IMO) that millions of DINKS (and, some adventurous high income families with kids) will migrate to southern States for the winter (temporarily mothballing their stick-and-brick abodes), all the while working as " high earning technical nomads". An industry has sprung up in North America over the past 6~8 years catering to this hugely-growing higher income cohort, with groups like Technomadia and many other RV-specific "on the road" services that specialize in hooking "them" up to high-speed remote work services. Mind you, not all of this cohort "pays" for traditional camping locales, a good number seek out boondocking, because "they" are equipped with massive solar systems and hundreds of amp-hours of lithium battery banks. And many other of this cohort pay for fixed campground locales.
All the above not even considering the millions of non technical nomads (simply families looking for a safe summer vacation in the outdoors) who have jumped into RVing and camping in a huge way since the end of June.
I personally don't see any change in this movement for perhaps 3 to 5 years into the future (regardless of future pandemics). Campgrounds and RV manufacturers, for the most part, are doing very, very well during "the pandemic" and will do extremely well at least 3 to 5 years into the future.
Unfortunately, the standard ol' long-term Canadian land snowbirds and short-term driving southern winterers who travel exclusively by road to the US, will have a difficult time driving to the US over this "land border crossing closure" situation, because of something called reciprocity. This will be one huge hurdle for Canada and the US to work out. IMO, no land crossings will be permitted in either direction until wide-spread vaccine(s) are distributed in the US and Canada, and Canadians wanting to do non-discretional travel to the US will be forced to go by air.
As earlier posters have shown, we Canadian snowbirds do have access to travel health insurance including coverage for covid-related complications for the 2020/2021 winter season. Also, we do have a fairly robust returning traveler protocol coming back into Canada, with serious invasive police checking by phone and via in-person visits, so I am not worried by returning travelers bringing the illness back here and breaking quarantine.
We personally are not worried about contracting covid in the US, because we will practice the mirror of our present low risk behavior in Canada, including curb-side ordering of all groceries, and through a curbside arrangement with our veterinarian in Florida. No bars, no gatherings, no going inside any buildings/enclosed spaces but our own.
