In the world of online bookings there is a new gamechanger. It’s the one that comes from the news of the day: the merger of the digital activities linked to the world of camping of three large European Touring Clubs. Starting from January 2024, the Dutch ANWB and the Swiss TCS will participate as shareholders in the new German entity PiNCAMP GmbH, previously known as ADAC Camping GmbH. The announcement was made at the end of the first day of Sett in Montpellier by Uwe Frers CEO of ADAC Camping and Jaap van der Linden, Business Owner Camping at the ANWB. In this agreement, the three shareholders are investing €6.6 million in the further internationalization of PiNCAMP.
In May 2024, the existing camping portal technology of anwbcamping.nl will be replaced by the portal technology of PiNCAMP. The anwbcamping.nl domain will remain unchanged. With direct access to 27 million car club members, PiNCAMP can reach the largest number of European campers.
Attractive advantages for partner campsites
The merger of the activities of the three car clubs creates interesting advantages for the partner campsites. German, Dutch, and Swiss campers spend more than 130 million nights in outdoor accommodation every year. By creating a common portal on the three different domains anwbcamping.nl, pincamp.de and pincamp.ch, the new PiNCAMP GmbH will make it possible to satisfy around 30% of the overall market demand through a reliable source. The English, French and Italian versions of PiNCAMP will be released soon.
This union facilitates processes and reduces administrative costs for campsites. Since the typical holiday periods in the three countries are different, PiNCAMP also ensures a more uniform use of campsites, especially in the low season.
Camping has played an important role for the three touring clubs for over 70 years. TCS published its first camping guide in 1950, ANWB in 1933, and ADAC in 1955. Over time, long-term, trusted relationships were established between car clubs and the camping industry. With the common platform, the three clubs are creating a basis for continuing this solid and historic collaboration in the digital world in the long term.
Comments from the protagonists
“ADAC, ANWB, and TCS have always been reliable partners to the camping industry, as well as pioneers and innovators in the field,” said Uwe Frers, CEO of ADAC Camping GmbH as well as of the new PiNCAMP GmbH. “Together with the camping industry, we will shape the future of the digital camping market, collaborating with them, not acting against them. The digital transformation is a truly significant opportunity, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. We have to take this step together.”
“The camping market has become an international market,” added Jaap van der Linden, Business Owner Camping at the ANWB. “ADAC, ANWB, and TCS have been trusted partners of the camping industry and campers for decades and now bring their knowledge and experience together in PiNCAMP. Campers and campsites benefit from this collaboration. Campsites are expanding their reach in key markets. At the same time Dutch, Swiss, and German campers benefit from a wider offer to choose from for their camping holidays. With this we are laying a powerful new foundation for growth in collaboration with all our camping partners.”
“With 25 exclusive campsites, we are already the market leaders in operating campings across Switzerland,” concluded Oliver Grützner, Head of Tourism & Leisure at TCS. “By investing in the new PiNCAMP GmbH, we aim to strengthen our position even further”.
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