Glamping in Nature-Based Destinations: A Product for Tourism Recovery

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the tourism industry due to the imposed travel restrictions. With the tourism destinations slowly reopening, glamping is regarded as one of the suitable products in the new normal since it combines nature, the outdoors, and can cater to small groups of tourists to avoid crowding. The study aims to know the viability of glamping in nature-based destinations that can assist in tourism recovery in the new normal and post-pandemic. Specifically, it focuses on analyzing the glamping attributes based on the case study of Your Brother’s House Tribal Village, Misty Heights, and Camp Bernardino de Lavigan as well as the perception of the tourists on glamping. The twelve (12) glamping attributes were location, natural environment, facilities and amenities, activities offered, price, accessibility, safety, service quality, health protocols, cleanliness, congestion, and local community readiness. Convergent mixed methods design through an online interview and survey form was utilized. Case study approach was used to evaluate the three sites. Deductive thematic analysis and cross case analysis were employed to analyze the responses in the online interview while the data from the survey form was interpreted through graphs, frequency tables as well as mean and percentage scores. All the three sites, which experienced operating in the new normal, exhibited the 12 glamping attributes. Majority of the respondents have the intention to visit or revisit the sites in their region. Most of them also considered glamping during the pandemic and post-pandemic. The findings showed that glamping in nature-based destinations is a viable product that can assist in the recovery of tourism during and after the pandemic.