Bookings at campsites in Switzerland show a marked increase for the summer. The coronavirus pandemic has reinforced an already emerging trend in recent years.
Compared to other countries, such as Germany and France, Switzerland lags behind in terms of infrastructure.
KEYSTONE
With the pandemic risks in the background, the organization of summer vacations looks complex. Uncertainties about the evolution of the situation encourage to explore new modes of travel and camping seems to be well positioned to make a success of it. Different players in the sector testify of bookings in marked increase for the summer.
“We have increased our rental fleet by 20% due to the strong increase in bookings,” says Dan Wankmüller, managing director of Bantam, a company specializing in the rental and sale of motorhomes. According to him, the coronavirus pandemic has reinforced an already emerging trend in recent years.
Ecological impact counts
“Desire for independence, thirst for nature, motorhome travel is now also acclaimed for the health security aspect, a new asset in the context of the coronavirus,” he explains. In an uncertain environment on the evolution of the pandemic in Europe, customers benefit from a great flexibility since they can choose their route themselves. “The trend this year, however, is to stay in Switzerland,” notes Wankmüller.
Customers have diversified over the years. “We of course have families and retirees but also a lot of young people, in the end we get Easyjet’s clientele back,” explains the director. Concerned about their ecological impact, many travelers are turning to a less polluting mode of travel, especially for short stays.
“After a good start to the year, motorhome sales lost ground in March and April, before recovering,” added Christoph Hostettler, president of Caravaningsuisse. “We therefore hope to achieve results as good as those of 2019, a record year for motorhome sales in Switzerland.”
“People have been tempted”
Travelers have been apprehensive, while quarantines on cruise ships, flight cancellations and closure of tourist infrastructure have hit the headlines in recent months.
“People who have never had a motorhome have been tempted, because it allows you to travel in the safest way possible and to travel to less touristy places,” he explains.
But the lack of infrastructure could slow the growth of this mode of travel. “Compared to other countries, such as Germany and France, Switzerland is lagging behind and investments are needed to meet the growing demand,” argued Hostettler.
Successful campsites
The appeal of campsites is also reinforced in the pandemic context. “We recorded 70% more bookings compared to the same period last year,” explains AWP Valérie Durussel, spokesperson for the TCS, which has nearly thirty campsites in Switzerland.
“The” waterfront “campsites are very popular and those in Sempach, Flaach and Thun are already fully booked over several weeks,” she adds. Usually 70% of TCS customers are Swiss, “but this proportion will be much higher this year,” said the spokesperson.
In Switzerland, there are around 100,000 registered motorhomes and caravans and more than 500 are available for hire, according to figures from Caravaningsuisse. By including the Swiss traveling in a motorhome abroad, the umbrella organization estimates that more than a million people are followers of this mode of travel in the country.
(ATS / NXP)
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