JOHOR BARU, Nov 8 — For Mohd Fais Adan and his wife Nurzaila Ahmad Suffian, camping used to be an easily accessible, cost-efficient and fun part of their lives.

On most weekends or long holidays, the couple will look forward to their family’s favourite recreation — three days and two nights of camping, especially at campsites located near the beach areas in Johor.

Camping with the family fosters better cooperation and a ‘back-to-basic’ lifestyle. It’s like therapy, said Mohd Fais.

However, the 34-year-old human resource legal executive said the beach camping scene in Johor is starting to lose its appeal among seasoned campers due to the high costs involved.

"What was in the past a low-cost recreation for those on a budget has now become more of an expensive leisure activity.

"I remembered that before 2011, long before beach camping was trendy, most beach areas in the state was free to use for camping.

"So, for experienced campers like us, it is a shock to hear people paying more than RM300 per night for a small family along the beach. Sadly, this is the price range that campers in Johor are expected to pay nowadays,” said Mohd Fais when met by Malay Mail here recently.

Mohd Fais pointed out that the high pricing seems to be a standard for most beach campsites in the popular coastal areas of Johor.

"Another issue is that most beach campsite operators tend to maximise their profits by overfilling the sites where tents are placed closely without care for privacy,” he said.

Of late, the beach scene camping has been a popular activity that attracts many people, where a majority are newcomers to the activity.

For many beach campers, the popular areas are Desaru, Tanjung Balau, Pengerang and also parts of Mersing. Besides locals, Singaporeans also make up the bulk of campers in Johor.

Over the past few years, private independent campsite operators have started their business at the more popular beach areas of Johor’s eastern coast, some which are formerly public beaches.

However, some question the steep pricing where popular beach spots can cost as much as RM300 to RM400 per night during weekends or public holidays.

Camping picking up — despite high costs

Johor-based camping group leader Zafrul Isham Othman has been against the overpriced cost by irresponsible campsite operators.

Despite the current steep price, he said camping in general, like most outdoor activities, continues to grow in Johor.

"In the past two to three years camping has been popular among most age groups and also young families.

"There is no sign that camping is slowing down and beach camping has taken top spot as it is also a trending activity,” he said when contacted by Malay Mail recently.

Zafrul, who has more than 30 years of camping experience, said the current high prices for beach campsite fees in Johor was only recent and due to its popularity.

The 49-year-old chemical industry senior executive explained that camp ground operators started to hike their fees shortly after the Covid-19 restrictions under the movement control order (MCO) ended at the tail-end of 2021.

"By the following year, outdoor activities and camping suddenly became a top activity for couples and groups.

"Many newcomers readily took up the activity after they had been in lockdown for more than one and a half years,” he said, adding that he believed the situation led to campsite operators taking advantage of the growing number of new outdoor enthusiasts.

Prime pricing

Zafrul said over time seasoned campers like himself took notice that some campsites here were priced too high.

He said paying more than RM300 per night for a small group went against the fundamental aspect of camping being affordable.

"The pricing is similar to what one would pay for a three-star or four-star hotel room. The lack of enforcement or a fixed ceiling price coupled with many people new to outdoor activities had led to the high cost of campsites.

"For us seasoned campers, paying more than RM50 per head for a night is considered overpriced.

"However, the uninitiated and new campers tend to accept that this is the normal price range,” he said, adding that this situation encouraged the high pricing for campsites.

Mohd Fais, who strongly advocates affordability for outdoor activities, warns that such a situation can also jeopardise Johor’s local tourism efforts.