Tendra Tents industry analysis: tents and camping equipment

Camping tents are a small corner of the outdoor goods market. Estimates of its global size in 2025 range from about USD 3.3 billion (Expert Market Research) to about USD 6.2 billion (Fortune Business Insights), with others in between, and forecast growth rates differ too. The gap comes mostly from what each publisher counts as a camping tent.

That disagreement is a useful lesson in itself. When the unseen gives you a market figure, ask where it came from and what it includes before you build a decision on it.

In Europe most tents are bought in spring and early summer, ahead of the camping and festival season, and a wet summer can hit sales across the industry. Mordor Intelligence lists seasonality and dependence on the weather among the main restraints on the market in temperate regions.

For a manufacturer that means deciding how to match production to demand: build stock evenly through the year and carry it, or make more in the run-up to the season and accept the strain on capacity and staff. Either way, cash flow swings through the year.

Tents reach customers through specialist outdoor shops, general retailers and supermarkets, and increasingly online direct from the brand. Large retailers bring volume but bargain hard; selling direct keeps more margin but brings delivery, returns and the cost of reaching customers.

Cheap tents have a waste problem. The Association of Independent Festivals estimates that around 250,000 tents are left behind at UK music festivals each year, most ending up in landfill. Since 2019 its "Take Your Tent Home" campaign has asked retailers to stop marketing tents as single-use "festival tents". For brands that sell on sustainability, that is both a reputational risk for the industry and an opening for repair, reuse and take-back schemes.

Water-repellent and flame-retardant treatments are under growing regulatory pressure. In the EU, Regulation (EU) 2024/2462 restricts PFHxA, a PFAS chemical used in water-repellent finishes: limits apply to clothing and footwear for the public from 10 October 2026 and extend to all other textiles from 10 October 2027. A much wider restriction covering PFAS in general is going through the EU process, with final adoption expected in late 2027 or 2028.

Brands are already launching tents made from recycled fabrics with PFAS-free coatings. Switching materials can change costs, suppliers and product performance, and any green claim made about the result needs to be backed by evidence.