July 2021

GLAMPSITES
What is a
Glamper?
GETTY IMAGES
Getting scientific about terminology
gives an insight into the future of
glamping, reveals researcher Greg Watt
WHILE THE term ‘glamping’ has established
itself within recognised lexicons, the term
‘glamper’ is less acknowledged. Much of
this has to do with exclusivity. People that
go glamping don’t always go glamping. It’s
not an all or nothing designation. For some,
glamping is captivating, and they constantly
seek to get away at every chance. However,
for others, going on a glamping trip may
just round out their holiday choices (which
may be varied). For the former, glamping is
a passion; for the latter, it is a novelty. Both
have been glamping, and therefore both can
be perceived as glampers.
Glamping had manifested itself in various
forms before the millennium, with the
advent of European styled comfort camping,
African safari excursions, Middle Eastern
Bedouin desert experiences, and niche
Asian resorts embedded in local ethnic
rurality (Bali being the exemplar). Patently,
glamping characteristics have been around
for generations without any mainstream
appeal. So, what changed?
It is clear that glamping in the UK
obtained significant publicity from the likes
of the Glastonbury Festival and gained
modest popularity from 2005 onwards.
Despite this, Google Trends 1 reveals
that “glamping” as a term received little
attention until about August 2010 in the
UK and most other countries the following
year. From this time forward, glamping and
the idea of being a ‘glamper’ became more
prominent, more substance was attached
“IS IT THE PULL OF
GLAMPING THAT ATTRACTS
PEOPLE, OR IS IT THE PUSH
OF SOME INNER NEED OR
DESIRE WITHIN PEOPLE
THAT MAKES GLAMPING
SOMETHING THEY CHOOSE
TO DO?”
to the terminology, and identifying as a
glamper took on some significance.
Is it the pull of glamping that attracts
people, or is it the push of some inner
need or desire within people that makes
glamping something they choose to do?
Perhaps it’s a combination of both. Reasons
are eclectic and chaotic, regardless of the
theories that attempt to pigeonhole their
motivations. For some, being a glamper is
as superficial as it is fanciful – to get great
Instagrammable photos!
HAVE ‘GLAMPERS’ EVOLVED?
Today's busy work-life is performed in
confined environments, with stressful
challenges, under impossible timeframes.
For some there is the necessity to escape
and find time to re-evaluate their life,
re-energise themselves and revise their
pathways. Glamping provides that time
away.
Some academics hypothesise an ‘evolution
model’ for glampers. That relating oneself
as a glamper is the result of mental and
emotional attachment to ‘getting back to
nature’. All people hold a view of the world
and how we impact it. Further, everybody
has a self-image of how they relate to that
world. Identifying as a glamper allows
people to express empathy for notions
associated with glamping such as the
natural world and the simpler things in life.
Further, in a world governed by social
media postings, it is not sufficient for
identity representations to be kept personal.
In this regard, not only are glamping spaces
and experiences inherently photogenic,
many of the notions associated with
glamping have positive social connotations.
In the evolution model, glampers have
made decisions about themselves, who
they are, what they stand for and how they
want the world to be. Commitment to
glamping is therefore likely to be steadfast
and enduring.
ARE GLAMPERS CREATED?
Have ‘glampers’ been created? Have they
been born out of the consequence of
external events? Did the global financial
crisis, and now Covid, cause people to have
staycations for their holidays, revitalising
taking time out in the country?
There is no doubt that the global financial
crisis affected a broad cross-section of
society everywhere and caused both
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