Alarm is spreading throughout the nudist/naturist community as more reports arrive of resorts and campgrounds being sold or put on the market. In most cases that means that wealthy buyers with other plans come in and put an end to nudity on the property.
The Substack publication A Comfort of Naturists advanced the conversation and provided fresh food for thought with the piece, “For Sale”, in which the author, a resident of New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty, wrote:
From a business or commercial point of view, naturism and social nudity are not particularly profitable. It would seem that there is little money to be made from a lifestyle that often eschews material things for a simple and natural existence. Long may that be the case. I am in no hurry to see naturism commercialised or made profitable by corporations and advertisers. The paradox is, however, if there was money to be made from naturism, you can bet that everyone would already be naked.
Perhaps the question of how we stop this from happening is looking at things the wrong way.
Perhaps the closure of traditional naturist places is inevitable. Many naturist clubs are situated on large pieces of land, often gifted by members or benefactors. I understand that the starting price for Lupin Lodge is USD 32,000,000. I have no idea of land values in the US, but if they are anything like land prices here in New Zealand, $290,000 per acre is remarkably cheap. As the population of the world increases, the finite amount of land available will only increase in value. Land is never going to get cheaper.
With recent legislative restrictions and the added costs of compliance for businesses, running a naturist venue must seem like a constant uphill battle.
Many people running these places are enthusiastic volunteers or owner-occupiers who are more concerned with maintaining a positive facility for everyone than drawing a living wage, let alone making a profit. It must often be a thankless and tiring task. …
Some may argue that landed clubs have become less relevant in modern times and are out of touch with what many young naturists are looking for. Some argue that they are too rigid in their rules around membership and too late in adopting changes around technology and social media, considered essential by many younger people.
As more and more people own up to being home naturists and finding other ways to spend time naked, do we still need dedicated naturist venues?