Not long ago, there were luxury hotels, and there were campsites. Then innovative hoteliers came up with a way to combine the two. The result: glamping. Today, glamping is one of the hottest trends in travel and is attracting traditional hotel guests and travellers alike.
While glamping has seen a huge uptake in the US with dedicated glamping tradeshows, we see that in Australia, the concept is relatively new. Aussies are true campers and are used to traveling in a four-wheel drive with a rooftop tent or caravan. International tourists are using backpacks and staying in hostels or rent campervans to explore the Australian outback.
Yet, Australia has the perfect conditions to be a successful glamping destination. The abundance of nature, the four seasons and not in the least, the space that we have available here in Australia, convinces us that it is only a matter of time before we see glamping truly pick up around us.
So who are our future glampers?
According to social scientist Dr Ross Honeywill, there is a new economic order, called the NEOs. NEO means ‘new’ in Greek and is also an acronym for New Economic Order. Who are these NEOs? NEOs believe that everything they do is a statement about themselves – so everything they buy & eat is a statement of who they are, what they stand for, what they believe in – and aesthetic is a hugely important part of that. Design matters. Brand matters. Beauty matters.
NEOs are socially progressive, high spending and highly flexible with choice. The vast majority of NEOs are in the big spender category. NEOs are a quarter of the Australian population and have a powerful social and business influence.
Australian NEOs are known to live in Sydney or Melbourne and have a high level of education. They spend less on traditional products and choose to spend on creating emotional experiences by buying brands and experiences that are authentic and offer provenance.
NEOs are expected to be the glampers of tomorrow. That is, when the glamping product is fully developed in Australia. High quality, blending in with nature and surrounded with the comfort and luxury that they would like to identify themselves with.
