As a former limousine driver in San Diego, Louis Tejeda knows the oceanfront hotels in Coronado, the hot restaurants in La Jolla and the hip clubs in the Gaslamp Quarter downtown. But on a recent Saturday morning, he sought something more affordable in these tough times. That's how he found himself in Chula Vista, where he and his five grandchildren planned to splash around in a heated pool, ride bicycles, roughhouse in a playground and listen to guitar music by the light of a roaring campfire. With the slumping economy and rising unemployment putting a death grip on travel budgets, Tejeda has joined a growing number of vacationers who are camping -- without roughing it.
Travel spending nationwide has taken a nose dive in the past few months but business remains brisk at many "resort campgrounds," privately owned suburban parks that offer family-friendly amenities such as pools, free Wi-Fi, furnished cabins, arcade games, hot showers and laundry service. Resort campgrounds, including the KOA camp in Chula Vista, are not immune to this recession, but campground owners say the weakening economy has attracted more vacationers looking to save a buck without having to sacrifice comfort and fun. "People still want to get away but are looking for more affordable vacations," said Linda Profaizer, president and chief executive of the National Assn. of RV Parks and Campgrounds, a trade organization that represents more than 3,700 privately owned campgrounds across the country.
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