Hooray, we are allowed to camp again! Hand-picked German model regions started with new regulations, meanwhile entire federal states felt the pressure to follow. Austria and Italy have opened their borders, France is following. This is already normality for Luxembourg and the Netherlands as well as Denmark and Norway or Spain and Portugal. Quarantine-free border crossings are in force or in preparation. Please follow reputable sources of information daily, especially if you are travelling with children. The age, at which quarantine is obligatory for non-vaccinated persons, varies in the individual European countries. Different quarantine regulations are also in force when you return, i.e., when you go back to your home country. We are eagerly awaiting the digital European vaccination passport, which should optionally also certify an infection, that has been cured. We organised our annual staff training as an online event for the first time since 2009. Therefore, we ensured, that everyone is well prepared for the forthcoming start of camping. Since there was no need to travel and more staff had time during the lockdown, we were able to welcome a record number of 80 participants. Perfectly prepared, we are looking forward to a tentative reopening of travelling and hope for complication-free border crossings as well as to finally being able to welcome and pamper you again at 36 locations in 11 European countries.

LeadingsClub

Welcome in the LeadingClub! Each month there is a lucky winner of a "feel good camping week" at a different campsite amongst the club members. The winner of the LeadingCamping week of April 2021 is Nadia G. from the area around Padua in Italy. She may look forward to having a treat at the Sportcamp Woferlgut at the Salzburger Land. Have a look what this campsite has to offer at www.sportcamp.at The LeadingCard is the entrée into the LeadingsClub. The most popular benefits at a glance:

1. Every month a raffle of a full week's stay at one of the LeadingCampings, restaurant meals, wellness, sports and fun included.
2. Late check-out and pitch upgrade*
3. Preferential reception and/or reserved counter for LeadingsClub.*
4. Benefits and privileges on every LeadingCamping for club members, including overnight stays for bonus points (not on all LeadingCampings). *
5. Reserved space in leadingcampings.com website where you can control your point account, find current offers and much more interesting information.
   

* Examples of the various LeadingsClub. Offers can vary from campsite to campsite and are not available at every LeadingCamping.

ACSI camping survey

At the beginning of March, the Dutch camping specialist ACSI presented promising results of a survey on the vacation intentions of European campers. More than a month later, there is still great uncertainty in the travel world. However, the progress of the various vaccination campaigns is giving more and more hope for a great summer. ACSI conducted a new survey to investigate whether this has affected camping plans. More than 18,000 European campers shared their camping intentions. Most campers is still planning their camping holiday for this year. However, there are some small differences in terms of travel period and destination. The vast majority of the nearly 10,000 Dutch participants say, they still have camping plans for 2021. Not less than 98% think to go on vacation this year as usual. The 5,600 German respondents say, they want to go on vacation mainly in August (with children) and September (without children). Also October enjoys increasing popularity. Favourite destinations for French campers are France, Spain and Portugal. 58% of the more than 1,500 French participants said, they would only camp in their own country. British and Irish campers have become more optimistic about the possibility of camping this year. Of the more than 1,100 respondents, 94% said they had plans for 2021. In the last survey, that number was 89%. This second survey also gives hope for a great summer and fall in 2021. Further information: https://acsi.eu

Market potential leader

The LeadingCampings of Europe have participated in an international research project at the University of Łódź in Poland called ‘Opportunity-based approach to innovation management in SMEs’ (small and medium-sized enterprises). It is financed by the National Science Centre (Poland) and realised in cooperation with the Technical University of Łódź, the University of Entrepreneurship and Law (Czech Republic) and the University of Łódź. By the help of an online survey, companies in the SME-sector in the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic and Poland have been interviewed. They were asked about the innovations of the last year and whether and to what extent they were related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Afterwards, the universities evaluated and ranked the answers. As a result, LeadingCampings can now call themselves "market potential leaders", as evidenced by a certificate from the research team. Members of this team are the project leader Dr.-Ing. habil. Marek Matejun, Prof. of the University of Łódź, Prof. Dr. habil. Stefan Lachiewicz (Technical University of Łódź,), Prof. Dr. habil. Zdeněk Mikoláš (University of Entrepreneurship and Law, Czech Republic), Dr Maciej Woźniak (Stanisław Staszic Academy of Mining and Metallurgy in Kraków). More information: www.opportunity.bizresearch.pl

New accommodations

At Feddet Strand Resort in Denmark, there are new luxury rental accommodations this season. What is simply called "Premium Beach Cottage" turns out to be more of a luxury beach house. The Premium Beach Cabins have been built this spring and are particularly pleasant equipped. With their understated wooden architecture, the new buildings match very well Feddet Strand Resort's Scandinavian eco-style. The houses are insulated for year-round use and have air conditioning for the summer. Each premium beach cottage can accommodate six people. As the name suggests, they are located near the beach. However, they are also not far from the indoor pool, activity house, mini golf, jungle trail, the store and playgrounds. The premium beach houses have a jacuzzi on the terrace, an outdoor rain shower, a cosy lounge area on the terrace, deck chairs and a gas grill. This is, where your vacation starts at the moment you arrive. More information: www.feddetcamping.dk

Only camping matters

The tent is all, that counts for Jenny and Fabian, two millennials from Hamburg. However, their equipment, has nothing to do with the ‘festival dome tent’ of the discount store for 29.90 €: ‘50kg Glück’, the name of their tent blog, is pretty much corresponding to the weight of their equipment. Consequently, they do not bivouac, they celebrate life in the canvas villa. With fairy lights, Omnia oven and everything else, that a Fiat Panda just being able to carry. Quite unusual as well as quite LeadingCamping, because the two prefer for the large, comfortable tent also large, comfortable plots, gladly with private bathroom. So, the operators of the young tent podcast have come to the Leadings - and to their limits, because, oh wonder, not everywhere you are able to pitch your tent on a comfort plot. Is that just surprising or already discrimination? Fabian and Jenny will chat with managing Director Eicke Schüürmann on May 25^th, just after Whitsun, about their favourite topic: beautiful, tent camping with that certain something and the special needs of upmarket tent campers. This could be for example the space requirements of a 50-kilo tent, when you consider the impact points of the pegs for the guy ropes. You can listen to ‘50 Kilo Glück’ wherever podcasts are. Meet convinced tent campers, who didn't even know, they were campers deep inside before the Covid-19 pandemic. The unusual and stellar camping career can be followed (in German language) at: https://50kgglueck.wordpress.com