The camping market in France

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).