Campland on the Bay, San Diego’s popular campground and marina located on Mission Bay, posted gains in July for both occupancy and revenue that outpaced bullish projections, according to Michael Gelfand, president of the 40-acre park. He said that, typical for Campland, the majority of July campers were San Diego residents, many of whom make the local beachfront campground an annual tradition. “We really pushed our 2015 projections for July, historically our busiest month of the year,” Gelfand said. “Campland is really bustling in July, and many families make it a tradition to visit at the peak of summer for beachfront camping and watersports and for the social opportunities with other campers. Kids especially enjoy the games, sports and activities that allow them to make fast friends.” Gelfand said the park’s popular summer concert series of live bands on the Campland stage is also a draw. Campland featured 11 live bands on weekends in July, largely tribute bands such as Ozzmania, No Duh, Black Eyed Tease, Turn the Page (Bob Seeger tribute) and Vitalogy (Pearl Jam tribute).
 
With nearly 600 tent and RV campsites, the park booked 123 more site nights (reservations) than projected, for a total of 15,623 site nights in July. “We thought our site night projections reflected capacity, though we somehow were able to exceed that in order to meet the demand,” according to Gelfand, who added that reservations for July are accepted and heavily booked two years out. General revenue from campsites tallied 3 percent above projections for July 2015 and outpaced July 2014 performance by approximately 5.5 percent. Gelfand noted that July of 2015 had four weekends, which underscores the true gains when comparing previous revenue records for July, when the calendar often included five weekends. In addition to campsite revenue, several other areas of the park posted strong performance, according to Gelfand. The Campland market, featuring sundries, food, camping supplies, branded clothing and merchandise, outperformed July projections by nearly 7.5 percent. New menu items, including pizza, allowed the Hungry Wolf Café to exceed revenue expectations by 5 percent. While the marina met its July target, it was 3 percent ahead of July of 2014. Campland on the Bay is located on land leased from the city of San Diego. July Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), a hotel tax, provided about 40 percent of total taxes the campground forwarded to city coffers in July. Totaling $364,000, it is the largest single month TOT contribution in the park’s 46-year history. “After an unprecedented 2014, when Campland posted record gains for 10 months, we wondered if we were too optimistic in again bumping our projections,” Gelfand admitted. “This performance confirms that the height of summer is beachtime at Campland. We find that families clearly appreciate the full activity schedule, close-to-everything location, long list of amenities right inside the park and a sense of small-town community, offering kids quite a degree of freedom.” With a devoted San Diego following, Gelfand said many local families return year after year. “Kids grow up coming here and then bring their own kids as well as their parents to enjoy San Diego beachfront camping,” he said. “It’s become an annual tradition for many, many San Diego families who tell us they find it convenient for a beach vacation that still feels like a true getaway.” Campland on the Bay, situated on Mission Bay in Pacific Beach, is San Diego’s most popular full-service RV and tent-camping playground, featuring a full marina, pools and spas, a playground, a dog park, a fitness center and a performance stage. The campground provides a year-round calendar of activities and venues, including sports, games, crafts, a skate park, a game room, a basketball court, a horseshoes field, table tennis, yoga and water aerobics. For more information or reservations, visit campland.com or call 1 (800) 4-BAYFUN. Follow Campland on social media at Facebook: Campland on the Bay; on Instagram: Friendly the Wolf at Campland; and on Twitter: @CamplandRec.