What happened
A Beijing-area survey of RV campsites by China Business Journal found that traditional homestays, single-function picking gardens and ordinary campsites are losing visitors because they lack products that feed spiritual consumption. Operators now see exclusive scenes, local cultural touches, light dining, nature therapy and deeper residential experiences as the main draws for suburban tourism.
The industry's first phase was driven by rapid expansion and material consumption, with suppliers concentrating on parking lots, basic lodging and hardware rather than content. Prices have fallen sharply: one campsite owner said near-city boutique homestays dropped from 2,000 yuan per night at their peak to 500 yuan, with average holiday vacancy above 55 percent; another said high-end RV family rooms fell from 5,000 yuan to 1,000 yuan per night. Insiders attribute the 2024 downturn not to shrinking demand but to homogeneous material offerings that no longer match evolving consumer needs.
Newer successful projects are moving from renting venues and accommodation to selling scenes, experiences and emotions. Sunshine Valley, a Beijing-area example, reported single-day revenue exceeding 50,000 yuan for mountain scooters, 47,000 yuan for helicopter rides, and more than 20,000 yuan each for bread barbecue and mountain-top coffee. According to its head, Sun Jiandong, the project earns 30 million yuan annually and drives 70 million yuan in surrounding spending, with an average stay of 32 hours and per-customer spending of 1,300 yuan.
Why it matters
This shift signals a broader change in Chinese cultural tourism: standardized hardware and basic lodging no longer command premium pricing. Competitive advantage increasingly depends on delivering unique, emotionally resonant experiences that feel worth paying for.
The proposal to weave intangible cultural heritage into RV travel suggests a route away from the sector's homogeneity. If non-heritage skills, workshops and performances become part of campsite operations, camping could evolve into a mobile cultural space and develop a distinctly Chinese model rather than remaining an imported pastime.
For operators, the lesson is that profitability now relies on constant innovation across scenarios, products, business models and operational mechanisms, along with refined visitor-flow management, seasonal differentiation and cost control to weather off-season losses.
Key facts
Campground industry pain points have shifted from a lack of infrastructure to insufficient content, severe experience homogenization, missing cultural cores and low user repurchase rates.
A high-end RV parent-child room price fell from 5,000 yuan per night five years ago to 1,000 yuan per night, with the industry described as nearly saturated.
Sunshine Valley has annual revenue of 30 million yuan, drives 70 million yuan in surrounding consumption, and sees a 32-hour average stay with 1,300 yuan per-customer spending.
What to watch next
Watch whether campsite operators can develop non-replicable local experiences and immersive content, since conventional offerings like grassland camping and mountain rafting are easily copied and fail to generate repeat visits.
Expect more campsites to adopt layered pricing structures, charging separately for scenery, venue use, experiences and photography, while packaging day trips, two-day vacations, parent-child tickets and corporate team-building products to raise spending and dwell time.
The integration of intangible cultural heritage into RV travel is a notable trend to track: if embodied successfully, it may reshape camping's cultural core and push the industry toward a more localized, heritage-rich 'Chinese model'.