In 1998, but updated in 2003, the Department of Sociology at Lancaster University published a Research Note:  Home from home?: a research note on recreational caravanning. Written by Dale Southerton, Elizabeth Shove, Alan Warde, Rosemary Deem (Alan Warde is now at the University of Manchester) July 1998 .

Our experience is that unless your CL is near to a major attraction or event, CL guests are firmly in ‘Type 3’ – ‘private relaxers’ and our marketing should concentrate on that key audience.

1. ‘family fun seekers’, who often rent static vans for a fixed holiday period, frequently at the seaside, their main interest being a high level of entertainment on or off site. For such people, usually in household groups including children, the caravan is little more than a cheap way to have a British family holiday, in which "you know what you're getting", at a relatively low cost.

2. ‘activity seeking tourers’, whose use of touring caravans is largely secondary to the pursuit of other sport or leisure activities, admit that they do not "usually mix" with other caravanners.

3. the ‘private relaxers’ are caravanners who have their own static or touring caravan but who do not seek high levels of entertainment, sociality or other leisure/sport activities. One such male caravanner commented that "we only want the basics [not] flashy showers ...a quiet site [where] people keep themselves to themselves, without kids that are allowed to run riot".

4. ‘the enthusiast’ immersed in touring caravan culture, who attends regular meets and rallies and socialises extensively with other caravan enthusiasts. One male enthusiast claimed that the sociability found at a 'meet', can be "likened to the old terraced houses community spirit", as everyone's door is always open.

We believe that  Club-owned sites are aiming at the ‘Type 2’ audience via their ‘tourer-explorer’ campaigns.