Summer camps thrive despite economic woes

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By Karen Goldberg Goff

In this ailing economy, it may seem as if luxuries would be the first thing slashed. For many families, the lavish vacation may be a thing of the past. Or perhaps this summer, the lawn service or the top-notch swim club will get the ax.

What's not on the chopping block is summer camp.

Despite the economic slowdown, many summer camps — both residential and day programs — say enrollment is the same or even more than it was heading into summer 2008. So when it comes to junior, weeks spent riding horses, learning to sail, going through astronaut training or enhancing lacrosse skills are non-negotiable.

"The camp experience is nearly 150 years old," says Peg Smith, CEO of the American Camp Association. "We have been through many ups and downs, but the camp experience survives very well. The last money parents will cut is the money they spend on their children."

That may be because in families where both parents work, camp takes the place of school or child care over the summer. If the other choices are not being able to work or leaving the kids unsupervised, most families will gladly hand over the $250 to $1,000 weekly cost of camp.

Matt Bowden, communications coordinator for Johns Hopkins University's Center for Talented Youth (CTY), says that in the recession of the early 1990s, enrollment in that summer program actually increased.

Enrollment for 2009 is holding steady compared to last year, Mr. Bowden says. CTY has day and residential programs at 30 locations around the country. Students can take courses such as cryptology, Chesapeake Bay ecology and Russian history. A three-week residential camp session costs $3,360.

"Parents, particularly parents of older students, look at it as an investment in their child," Mr. Bowen says. He also points out that about 2,000 of the 10,000 students enrolled in 2008 received financial aid.

Larry Capps, CEO of Space Camp at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala., says enrollment for summer 2009 is up nearly 4 percent from this time last year. At space camp, campers pay around $799 for a six-day camp that features flight simulators, robotics training and rocket building.

One thing that has changed: Enrollment of foreign campers — particularly from India and China — is up, Mr. Capps says. Also affecting enrollment somewhat is the airline system — flight route changes and delays are making it harder for unaccompanied minors to easily fly to Huntsville, he says.