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Summary of our market study
The French camping market is estimated at over 3.4 billion
In 2020, the global camping market is estimated at $49 billion. Recovery from the civid crisis has been rapid. Market growth is fueled by the moderate cost of camping, increasing purchasing power in developing countries, new services and attractions that enhance the camping experience, and an aging population that is increasingly interested in outdoor activities.
North America and Western Europe dominate the market, contributing 68% of revenues in 2020, while Asia, particularly China, is the fastest-growing region.
Trends in the French camping market
The trend towards modernization and comfort has been accompanied by substantial investment, revitalizing the sector. The popularity of mobile homes and personal tents has contributed to market growth.
The majority of camping facilities (87%) continue to be independent, not owned by chains or groups.
French nationals, often families, account for around 69% of overnight stays. Most camping trips are made every two or three years, and the French tend to prefer the summer season.
There is a strong preference for seaside pitches.
Value for money is a key consideration, as camping is perceived as an affordable vacation option. Comfortable accommodation and swimming facilities are high on the list of criteria for choosing a campsite. Customers appreciate sites that take care to preserve the environment.
France has the largest number of campsites in Europe, with a concentration along the coast and in the mountains.
The French camping market has seen strong growth in terms of overnight stays, reaching between 125 and 130 million.
Market players
- ECG (Homair, Eurocamp) European group
- Siblu operates on the European market, particularly in France, where it manages several high-end campsites.
- Hutopia, Cap Fun, Toapi, sandaya, Yelloh, Les castels French players
- Vacansoleil, European camping giant.
- Campings.com, reservation platform
- Internacional Palamos Spanish player whose campsites are often by the sea
- Equity Lifestyle Properties, TENTR players in the North American market
- Sun Communities - extensive portfolio of campgrounds, manufactured homes and marinas.
- Jellystone Park - renowned in the U.S. and Canada
- Parkdean Holidays - British player.
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Presentation and definition of the camping market
Camping, or open-air hospitality, refers to a tourist activity that consists of living in the open air, in a tent, a caravan or a motor home or other similar accommodation. A campsite is thus an area equipped for camping, but there are also other types of camping, such as wilderness camping or camping in the home.
The activity of camping sites is registered under the following NAF code
- 55.30Z: Camping grounds and parks for caravans or recreational vehicles
A campground can be classified as either Tourism or Leisure.
- The Tourism classification applies when more than half of the pitches are intended to be rented out by the night, week or month, to a visiting clientele.
- The Leisure mention applies when more than half of the pitches are intended to be rented for more than one month, by a clientele that does not take up residence there.
There are 2 categories of classified campgrounds: star-rated campgrounds (from 1 to 5 stars) and natural area campgrounds.
The global camping market grew at a CAGR (combined annual growth rate) of 5.6% from 2015 to reach $49.9 billion in 2019. It is expected to continue to grow in the coming years, especially due to the growing interest of millenials in camping and populations for outdoor activities.
The French camping market is also growing strongly and has seen a 15% increase in visitation between 2011 and 2019, reaching 129 million overnight stays in 2019. The sector's revenue growth is also being driven by the market's move up market in response to customers' growing demand for ever-increasing comfort. Campsites are being modernized and made more comfortable, and the proportion of high-end campsites (4 and 5 stars) in the French market is increasing.
Once reserved for the working classes, the business has evolved considerably in recent years. Professionals have invested heavily to improve the infrastructure and attract a new clientele. The two most popular types of accommodation for campers are the mobil-home and thepersonal tent. The recent success of themobile homehas largely contributed to the revival ofcamping.
The majority of campsites are independent (87% of campsites). The other campsites are organized into integrated chains (Eurocamp, CapFun, Homair Vacances, etc.), franchises (Flower Campings, Yelloh! Village) or groupings (Sites & Paysages, Les Castels, Welcome Campings).
1.2 The global market is growing and concentrated in North America and Europe
The global camping market grew at a CAGR (***) of *.*% from **** to reach $**.* billion in ****. In ****, the Covid-** related epidemic has resulted in an estimated market decline of -*.*% with revenue estimated to be $** billion in ****.
However, recovery is expected to take place as early as **** and the camping market is expected ...
1.3 The French market is growing and moving upmarket
The graph below highlights the sector's growth in volume, which is reflected in the increase in the number of overnight stays spent at French campsites. In the outdoor hotel industry, visitation increased by *.*% in **** to *** million overnight stays. This figure is on a steady rise as the number of overnight stays ...
1.4 The effect of Covid-19
The Covid-** epidemic has had several consequences on the camping market, the first being the drop in turnover during the containment period as illustrated in the graph below. In April and May ****, the turnover of French campsites lost more than **% of its value, only to increase again from June ****.
Nevertheless, the ...
2 Analysis of the demand
2.1 Customer profile and habits
Camper profile
In ****, approximately **% of overnight stays at French campsites were made by French people while **% of overnight stays were made by foreign residents. Moreover, the latter are mostly from Europe since only *.*% of overnight stays were made by customers who came from non-European countries. Thus, in ****, the first countries of ...
2.2 Microeconomic determinants: customer choice criteria
The added value of camping The quality-price ratio is the main reason for choosing camping for one's vacations. Camping is therefore seen as a way to go on vacation at a lower cost, but also as a place appreciated for its leisure facilities (***) and its conviviality. The following reasons are the ...
2.3 Macroeconomic determinants: aging, climate and standard of living
If the quality-price ratio and the quality of the pitches are the first determining factors of the customers' choices, some factors beyond their control also influence the dynamics of the demand. In recent years, several factors have strongly influenced the evolution of demand in the camping market. Among them, the main ...
3 Market structure
3.1 Geographical distribution of campsites: a concentration on the coasts
With *,*** campsites in ****, France has the largest number of campsites in Europe and the second largest in the world, after the United States. [***]
More specifically, the map below highlights the high concentration of campsites by the sea or ocean. There are more campsites on the coastline. Thus, the departments with the ...
3.2 The organization of campsites: independents still in the majority
Campsites can be organized in * ways:
Integrated chains: Eurocamp, CapFun, Homair Vacances, Campéole, Siblu, Sandaya
The integrated chains operate on the basis of a branch system, with a parent company and subsidiaries that are dependent on it.
Franchise chains: Flower Campings, Yelloh! Village, Tohapi
Franchisee chains are made up of ...
3.3 Classification of campsites
In ****, there were *,*** campsites in France that can be divided according to their number of stars. [***] The most numerous were the *-star campsites, with **** establishments, followed by the non-classified (***), these three types of campsites representing a total of **.*% of French campsites. It is therefore the campsites with * star or * stars that ...
4 Analysis of the offer
4.1 Typology of campsites and their offer
There are several types of campsites:
The traditional campsite: offers rental pitches to pitch your tent, park your caravan or motor home and can also offer serviced pitches The residential leisure park: offers mainly light leisure dwellings (***) Luxury campsites: * or * star campsites that offer superior comfort and high-end services such as ...
4.2 Upgrading of the offer
The general price increase The increase in the range of campsites on offer is reflected in a general rise in prices in the sector. The graph below, which also takes into account youth hostels, highlights this increase in prices, which have risen by almost **% in ** years, from **** to ****. Consumer price index ...
4.3 Supply trends and development areas
Glamping
Glamping is the association of the words "glamour" and "camping" and designates a type of high-end camping that offers atypical accommodation combining comfort, nature and respect for the environment. [***]
The graph below illustrates the types of accommodation that glamping places can offer. Tree houses are the most popular and have ...
5 Regulation
5.1 Regulations concerning campsites
The opening of a campsite
Several steps are necessary to open a campsite:
Choose the type of campsite which determines the status of the campsite (***)
For a declared campsite, you just have to make a declaration to the town hall of the place where the site is located. To do so, ...
5.2 Regulations concerning campers
Wilderness camping
Wilderness camping, i.e. camping in isolation and outside of a developed site, is authorized provided that the owner of the site agrees, but in some places it is prohibited.
It is forbidden to camp, even temporarily:
On public roads and highways In classified or pending natural sites In ...
6 Positioning of the actors
6.1 Segmentation
- Les Castels
- Sunêlia
- Yelloh! Village
- Siblu France
- Campings.com
- Osmozis
- Alentour
- Sandaya
- Flower Campings
- Vacanses Campings
- ECG European Camping Group
- Capfun
- Tohapi
- Odesia Vacanses Association
- Huttopia Indigo Campings
- Berger Camping
- Forclaz
- Homair Vacances
- Eurocamp
- Les Méditerranées
- Campéole MS Vacanses
- Le French Time
- Mobile Home IRM (Trigano groupe)
- Rideau Groupe
- NaïtUp
- Chadotel
- Espiguette Camping
- Narbonne Accessoires - Sunroad Equipment
- Camping Paradis
- Locasun
List of charts presented in this market study
- Frequency of use of the campsite
- Preferences regarding the location of the campsite
- Distance between the camping site and the home
- Preferred type of accommodation during a camping trip
- Campsite attendance by customer origin
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Latest news
Gustave Rideau hands over the company to his sons - 10/10/2023
- The group has 1,100 employees.
- Group sales amount to 260 million euros.
- The group is made up of three distinct entities:
- Aluminium Rideau: 550 employees, over 50% of group sales, 3 manufacturing sites.
- Mobil-home Rideau: 370 employees, 3 manufacturing sites.
- Cybèle Vacances: 40 employees on permanent contracts (454 in season), 4 campsites from 3* to 5* and 1 vacation residence. The group has forecast growth of 64.4% between 2020 and 2022.
- The pergola plant currently in operation plans to produce 2,500 units in 2023 and 3,500 units in 2024.
- The Group plans to increase mobile home production by 30%, reaching a manufacturing capacity of 6,500 products per year.
IRM expands its range of mobile homes - 28/07/2023
- Mobile homes must respect a size limit of 40 m2 according to the town planning code and road transport restrictions.
- IRM is a subsidiary of the Beneteau Group, headquartered in La Chaize-le-Vicomte, Vendée.
- Founded in 1992, IRM employs 800 people at 7 production sites in the Vendée, Gard, Nord, Aude and Italy.
- The company was formerly part of Bio Habitat, the outdoor hotel division of the Beneteau Group.
- This division also includes the O'Hara and Coco Sweet brands.
- Bio habitat employs around 900 people and generated sales of €257.2 million in 2022.
- IRM produces an average of 11,000 mobile homes each year.
- The brand is currently being sold to Trigano.
Tourisme : pourquoi les fonds d'investissement adorent les campings - 30/05/2023
Campings.com: Loisirs : deux champions français s'allient face à Airbnb et compagnie - 24/05/2023
Decathlon and Forclaz join forces for local production - 04/11/2022
- Decathlon is testing its ability to reduce the carbon footprint of its product production with its Forclaz brand:
- Forclaz has launched two exploratory projects: Minimal Editions
- The first Minimal Edition capsule will go on sale before summer, featuring a sleeping bag, tent and mattress made from recycled, dye-free polyamide.
- The brand is working with seven European companies to produce this range.
- 3.050 items have been on sale since October 27 at Decathlon's French, German and Swiss sites and in four stores.
- Decathlon to achieve sales of 13.8 billion euros by 2022
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