I have no idea why, but every time anyone mentions the word glamping, a picture of Kim Kardashian going camping comes to mind. Of course this is the result of the workings of the imagination because I’ve never actually seen (on T.V.) the socialite and reality television star engaged in anything that even remotely resembles camping, nor have I heard that she’s out camping. I would imagine she’d go with her sisters and mom, perhaps her children and husband as well, but like I said, this is just what my imagination coughs up when I hear anyone talking about glamping.

I suppose the imagination is not too far out of touch with reality because I reckon the best way to explain what it is to someone who doesn’t know what glamping is would indeed to have them imagining Kim Kardashian going camping. It would be really hard to imagine, wouldn’t it?

That’s the whole point of the exercise – to suggest that she would add some “glam” to the very rudimentary activity of enjoying the great outdoors with the bare minimum in resources. She would turn camping into “glamping” and that’s pretty much what glamping is.

You’d think that I perhaps know a bit too much about Kim Kardashian, but the non-news which concerns the socialite and others in her circles cannot help but show up in many of my social media feeds, mainly because a portion of my personal business interests pretty much draw on the same client base as the reality TV stars’. I’m referring to the likes of sponsorships, the best of which are those where some establishment which is active in the travel and tourism sector invites you to stay over with them or join them on some activity they offer in return for the publicity they’ll get through you as an influential figure.

Anyway, all of that was just to clarify why I seem to know a little more about the likes of Kim Kardashian than I probably should, but all I’m leading up to is a return to the exploration of what glamping is and why so many people seem to be fixated on it.

The truth is it makes for a very easy way to say that one has gone camping, an activity which in its original form is considered to be something for the brave. What was going through Kim Kardashian’s mind when she tweeted “Stuck in Africa” comes to mind as the perfect example of what glampers typically aim to achieve with their glamping exploits.

Her flight was delayed and they were to take off from Cape Town, which hardly resembles the typical image of “Africa” her social media followers would have. That’s pretty much what glamping is in my opinion because the tent you stay in is only different to a typical home with all the amenities one could ever ask for in the size of the “walls”.

Otherwise the allure of glamping is perhaps that of being able to dip into the elements of the true camping experience to the degree you desire and then enjoy the option of going back to a five-star like lodging whenever you feel like it.