We recently received word (through the special interest nudist group of the Escapee's travel club) that another nudist club is going swinger.
Riverside Resort, near San Antonio, Texas, will switch from a family nudist camp to a clothing-optional lifestyle (swinger) friendly park. Riverside is a 22 acre camp, located about 15 miles south of San Antonio, and is the only nudist area in the San Antonio area, which makes this announcement all the more surprising.
We understood that Riverside was making good money as a nudist resort, but yet they have decided to make the jump. We found this news hard to believe, but an email from the owners confirmed that Riverside Resort would be a lifestyle club as of January 1, 2009.
It makes one wonder... is the family naturist/nudist club a thing of the past? We continue to hear reports of nudist clubs that are seeing fewer and fewer visitors. Nudists seem to want to only go to the beach, or to destinations, such as Jamaica, Bonaire, or even Europe. We now have a proliferation of luxury locations to get naked, and while these new locales are a positive, I think that the clubs have not kept up with what the modern nudist wants.
We did a survey many years ago and discovered that around 1/3 of nudist were swingers, and about 1/3 of swingers were nudists. So, there is definitely a market for the clothing-optional lifestyle resort. Hedonism resorts in Jamaica have made a fortune attracting this genre. The Desire resorts in Mexico have hopped on the bandwagon, as have other resorts in Texas, California, and Michigan.
So I ask the question.... are today's nudist camps a thing of the past? Is there a future for nudist camps in the US?
I think the answer is no. So what do you think?
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4 comments:
IMO, nudists only have themselves to blame for American nudist resorts going swinger.
My wife and I own the Terra Cotta Inn, Palm Springs. Although we do well and have a high occupancy rate, most other nudist places are barely getting by.
We have guests who will spend $5000-$7500 to go for a week to a place in Mexico or the Caribbean, but won't join a local nudist club or pay for AANR dues because they are "too expensive."
These same guests ask, why aen't there more places like Terra Cotta in the US. I bluntly say, too many nudists go to non nudist owned resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean, thus US nudist resorts are not supported by Americans.
As an example, we have more room night filled year round by Canadians then we do southern Californians.
It will only get worse with this place and Caliente in Florida, etc going swinger because many nudists won't support the American nudist industry.
Tom
I appreciate what Tom says but think more is involved. The success of Terra Cotta and others also suggests different things.
Additionally, I'm interested in any statistically valid and reliable survey on the relationships between nudists and swingers (so defined and identified in an acceptable way).
I'd like to comment on both comments here. One of the reasons that Terra Cotta is successful, in my opinion, is because they 'advertise' in the mainstream. Terra Cotta's use of their flickr account to generate interest has to have garnered them some guests, therefore they remain full. And lets face it, Terra Cotta is the luxury type of accomodations that nudists/naturists want, not some run down locale in the middle of nowhere. When you can walk to 5 star restaurants, see shows, have an incredible view of the mountains, and be 5 minutes away from a major airport, that says something.
As to Paul's comment... our numbers came from an informal survey of CO Digest subscribers several years ago. I've also talked to more nudists and swingers since that time, and the percentages seem to hold up. As far as a formal study, I've not seen one done.
Alas, I think you are correct. In my opinion, it is only going to get worse unless the linkage between nudism and swinger lifestyle is completely severed.
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