The digital age had created a real desire to disconnect from technology and reconnect to nature and the outdoors, she said.
Before launching Canopy Camping Escapes about 10 years ago, there were few options for experience and nature-based accommodation.
"People would holiday in New Zealand by either going to a traditional campground or staying in baches, or hotels and motels in towns or cities they wanted to visit.
"With our escapes, people tend to pick the accommodation they want to experience first, wherever it is in the country, then explore the area during their stay," she said.
Demand from domestic tourists "went into super-drive" during the Covid-19 pandemic, something she attributed to the lockdown, frustration at being housebound and the captive domestic travel market looking for something a bit different to do once they emerged from lockdown.
Now Kiwis had a taste for such experiences and farmers were also "cottoning on" to the potential of it.
That understanding among farmers was something that had really changed since Canopy Camping started.
"We really had to work hard to convince farmers that this sort of diversification was worthwhile to begin with. Now, with all the data we have, coupled with the current zeitgeist, it’s an easy conversation," she said.
