It was learned that the first international standard project led by China in the field of camping tourism has been officially launched by the ISO (International Organization for Standardization), and it is expected to be officially released in 2026.
This international standard project ISO 18980 “Tourism and Related Services – Camping Tourism – Requirements for Camp Facilities and Services”, led by Shanghai Business School and jointly coordinated with East China Normal University and the Commercial Committee of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, has received a high approval rate of 88.9%. This project has set a precedent in the ISO/TC 228 new project management mechanism, with experts from China, Germany, and Argentina, which are representative countries across continents, jointly responsible for the standard compilation, laying a solid foundation for the global consistency of the standard. It is reported that 12 countries including the Czech Republic, Portugal, and India will also send experts to participate in the standard compilation.
Professor Fu Quansheng, a Chinese expert of the ISO/TC 228 Accommodation Working Group and the co-leader of the ISO 18980 standard project from the School of Hotel Management at Shanghai Business School, introduced to the reporter that ISO 18980 stipulates the general service requirements for camps, including camp layout and design, sanitation facilities, drinking water supply, waste management, electrical and lighting systems, recreational facilities, staffing and training requirements. The core content of this standard is to conduct international standardization for the requirements of camp facilities and services in camping tourism, aiming to promote the high-quality development of camping tourism services, improve the overall operational efficiency of the industry, and ensure a high-quality experience for tourists. Through the formulation of this standard, China is expected to occupy an important position in the global camping tourism standardization construction.
Secretary-General Yao Xin of the Commercial Committee of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade said that the Chinese expert team started discussions at the end of 2021 and submitted a proposal in March 2022. They made presentations and answered questions at the online conference of the ISO/TC 228 (Technical Committee for Tourism and Related Services of the International Organization for Standardization) in May 2022. After a vote, it was officially launched as a PWI (Preliminary Work Item) project in September 2022.
The drafting group overcame difficulties such as cross-regional, cross-cultural, and cross-professional issues. After two years of hard work, they processed and replied to 101 modification opinions from around the world, revised the draft six times, and finally formed the first draft of the standard text. It was passed by the TC 228/WG 15 (Accommodation Working Group of the Technical Committee for Tourism and Related Services of the International Organization for Standardization) meeting in June 2024 and submitted for ISO project approval voting.
It is reported that the global camping tourism market prospects have laid a scale foundation for the application scope of the standard. The “2023 North American Camping and Outdoor Activity Report” released by the American camp chain KOA shows that in 2022, traditional camping and its upgraded version, glamping, accounted for 32% of all leisure tourism activities. According to the “Camping And Caravanning Market Trends” report, the global camping and RV market is expected to grow from 60.7659 billion US dollars in 2025 to 76.3249 billion US dollars in 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 4.7%.
The camping tourism mode has expanded the travel space and provided diversified tourism options, and is increasingly favored and accepted by the public. The future development potential of China’s camping tourism industry is huge. According to data from iiMedia Research, in the next 10 years, China will become the fourth largest camping tourism market in the world after the United States, European countries, and Australia.
Professor Jiang Hong, Dean of the School of Hotel Management at Shanghai Business School, said that in the next step, the school will fully support the project team under the guidance of the Tourism Quality Supervision and Management Institute of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (National Tourism Standardization Technical Committee) to promote international cooperation and strive for the early release of the standard, contributing wisdom to international tourism governance.
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