Nick Johnston in the kitchen area of the Cedar Creek 38 .
By Amy Henderson Photos by Amanda Shavers
Johnston RV : Driving Tourism
Even before the novel coronavirus
hit the United States and made travelers wary of boarding a plane , recreational vehicle ( RV ) sales were booming .
" The increase that we ' ve seen has just been incredible , not just since May but since 2014 ," said Nick Johnston , who , along with his father , owns two RV dealerships in Cullman and Decatur .
He said the industry took a " huge hit when the economy basically crashed in 2008 . It ' s slowly built back and we ' ve seen a boom recently ."
Cullman County boasts nearly a dozen RV parks , but it also is the perfect location to launch a trip from , said Johnston . " If you think about it , from Cullman alone , there are an unbelievable amount of parks that folks can go to , whether it ' s on a lake or not ," he said . " You can take these shorter trips and have a blast . You don ' t have to go way off ."
According to the U . S . Census Bureau , the nation ' s 2,600 plus RV dealers generated $ 25.9 billion in sales in 2017 , up more than 81 percent from 2012 . The more than 4,500 RV parks in the nation generated $ 3.1 billion in revenue , up more than 30 percent from 2012 .
" You can ' t really say it ' s one segment of folks that do this ," said Johnston . " There ' s younger couples with kids that every day are purchasing bunk houses to take their kids ."
Tourism is a $ 5.7 billion industry in Alabama , with 10 percent of jobs - pre-COVID-19 , tied to the industry .
Cullman County , with its access to the interstate , tourism attractions and lakes , is a big part of that industry .
COVID-19 hit the tourism indus-
34
Salute 2020