The outdoor accommodation market is flourishing. Camp sites offer a wealth of activities, often in special places, especially near the sea, whilst remaining a cost-effective solution for families. Camping and Co, the online camping booking specialist, is booming in this market.

Operating solely in the French market until 2016, Camping and Co turned towards the international market in 2017 by welcoming as main shareholder the German Rocket Internet, leading European incubator for Internet-based start-ups such as Zalando, HelloFresh, Home24, eDarling, etc. Camping and Co is based in Saint Malo with 35 employees but also has offices in Paris and Berlin.

 

Solid network of destinations

 

The company is now booming, mainly thanks to its merger in 2017 with Campsy, its counterpart in Germany and the Netherlands and the acquisition in 2018 of Vayacamping, the sector leader in Spain. It can thus offer stays in 2,000 camp sites 3 to 5* in six countries – France, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Spain and Italy – which account for 95% of the European outdoor accommodation market. Its revenue comes from commissions paid by the camp site owners.

 

Strategic partnership for an expanded audience

 

Having developed a solid network of destinations, Camping and Co is expanding its audience:  in March, the company forged a strategic partnership with the German Camping.info, the first portal specialising in outdoor holidays in the German, Austrian and Swiss markets, with fourteen million annual visitors and an app that has been downloaded more than 120,000 times.

For although the Southern Europe countries are mainly on the receiving end, the Northern countries on the contrary produce many holidaymakers with high purchasing power. The Camping and Co offer will thus be integrated into Camping.info that is making available its white label booking funnel. The revenue generated from each registered booking will be shared.

In 2019, the company is banking on bookings – online or via the multilingual advisers at its Saint Malo call centre – from 130,000 holidaymakers to achieve a turnover of €20M. The aim is to raise this figure to €100M in three years to establish itself as the leader in outdoor accommodation in the European market.