Quoted By:
>99% of people are done with the pandemic, including those who took precautions before
>Even the most liberal states and cities have loosened all restrictions including mask mandates
>Urbanites are back to partying and socializing in their cities like in picrel
>A wider variety of entertainment and leisure options have, and will continue to, become available to normalfags
>Skyrocketing gas prices will give urbanites even less incentive to leave their containment zones
>More people will start traveling internationally again as restrictions are lifted
>Ending WFH policies will force a lot of "temporary rural folk" to move back to the cities/suburbs or be out of a job
All signs point to 2022 being a down year for outdoor recreation following years of popularity growth. Some areas will fare better than others. Northern New England and the Adirondacks are two places that might weather the storm better, with the expected increase of visitors from Ontario and Quebec helping to offset the reduction of visitors from NY/NJ/MA/CT. Other destinations that are further away from the Canadian border -- such as the Catskills and Pennsylvania Wilds -- will almost certainly see significant declines in user traffic as people from NYC, Philly, DC and other large cities return to pre-pandemic normalcy.
There's a good chance that outdoor recreation's popularity will even dip below 2015-2020 levels, as a lot of casuals have gotten outdoor activities out of their system the past few years. Social media influencers will increasingly shift their focus to other activities and normies will follow. Could 2022 be the year that outdoor recreation finally becomes the domain of weirdos and outcasts again, like it was 10+ years ago before social media covid-19? I am optimistic. Even this board is noticeably slower than it was a year and a half ago.
