Page 146 - Introduction to Tourism

year, spending twenty - six days in their vehicle. In

Canada, estimates put privately owned RVs at 500,000

to 850,000. While the RV market has had its ups and
downs because of events such as the energy crisis, the

recession, and the Iraq war, the market for recreation

vehicles is huge, with sales in 2006 totaling $14 billion.
Slide - out technology, introduced during the mid -

1990s, has now advanced to become available in living

rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, and kitchens. At the

touch of a button, this mechanism lets a portion of the
room and the objects in it, such as a couch, table, or

refrigerator, slide outward up to about 3 ½ feet. Slide -

outs are available in a wide variety of RVs: motor
homes, mini - motor homes, travel trailers, fifth – wheel

trailers, and even folding camping trailers. Electronics

have also come to RV travel, with direct broadcast

satellite systems, computer hookups, onboard global
positioning systems (GPS), and rearview monitors now

popular options.

The typical U.S. RV owner is forty - nine years old, is
married, owns a home, and has an annual income of

$68,000. A University of Michigan study indicates that

intentions to purchase an RV are strongest among
baby boomers. Nearly 9 percent of households headed

by thirty - five - to fifty - four - year - olds own an RV,

slightly exceeding the 8.6 percent ownership rates of

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