CARRY on glamping. Holidaymaking in a tent is no longer just the province of students, outdoor enthusiasts or the financially disadvantaged.
It's being tipped by travel experts to be one of the hottest travel trends of 2009, albeit sleeping out under canvas has gone decidedly upmarket.
Glamping – or glamorous camping – is increasing in popularity for those who want to get close to n
ature, but still enjoy some luxuries. According to a survey by the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) the travel trade body, bookings for camping holidays have surged by 10%, fuelled by the credit crunch and a desire for cheaper, but no less comfortable, vacations both at home and abroad.
"The new fad for posh camping – with built-in bathrooms and pot-bellied stoves – has captured the zeitgeist for frugality and outside living," said spokeswoman Frances Tuke.
Abta believes the move to glamping will be one of the biggest changes in the new recession-hit travel market, but other trends are also emerging. It is forecasting a huge surge in visits to the United States following the election of the country's first black president, Barack Obama. Kenya, where the president-elect's father was born, is also expected to feature on a new Obama trail.
Recent surveys reveal people are reluctant to give up their holidays but, as they are cutting back, glamping is coming into fashion. Last year, membership of the Camping and Caravanning Club, which runs 100 camp sites, leapt by 50,000.
Tented camps in destinations such as Africa are particularly in vogue. Francis Naumann, spokesman for Edinburgh-based Africa specialist Aardvark Safaris, said: "The general trend is cutting out the bling.
"Tented camps tend to be cheaper than luxury lodges, but these are not traditional tents. In places like the Central Kalahari in Botswana these are tents on wooden platforms with viewing decks and plenty of space inside. They are pretty much permanent structures."
Gloria Ward, of The Ultimate Travel Company, says holidaymakers are often in search of a wilderness experience. "But when they get to their remote destination they find there is no electricity, no plumbing … then they are not so sure. These trips (to upmarket tented camps] make it possible to have that sense of going back to nature whilst still being comfortable."
But glamping can come at a price. Some companies offer camping in the Moroccan Sahara for £1,000 a week while a 3-night stay at the Abu Elephant Camp in Botswana, will set you back £4,395.
In Scotland, the Feather Down farm at Tyninghame, East Lothian, offers tents with double beds, wooden floors and a woodburning stove for around £245 for a weekend.
