Camping Business attended the Club del Sole press conference which took place the first week of October in Milan. On this occasion the data of the season were presented.
With over €80 million in turnover (+51% compared to 2019), the 2022 season of Club del Sole ends. Its 20 villages scattered in 7 Italian regions have hosted over 3 million guests, thanks to an accommodation capacity made up of over 8,500 housing units, including design lodges, apartments, bungalows, and Discovery, the “luxury” caravans created exclusively for the company. In this context, Italian tourists are growing – they represented 62% of the total clientele. Positive signals also came from the international market, with foreign tourists thus representing 38% of the total. Germans, Austrians and Swiss together formed 68% of this segment. It is estimated that in 2023 the international presence will reach 45%.
An evolved format
“Ours is a holiday full of values and not of things, an evolved camping village format that focuses on people, their desire to be in contact with nature without sacrificing comfort,” said Angelo E. Cartelli, general manager, underlining the new course undertaken by the Club del Sole inspired by the principles of flexibility and personalization thanks to which the customer can choose the most congenial formula from various alternatives.
During 2022, Club del Sole introduced numerous innovations, ranging from the hospitality protocol for the 4-legged friends of customers, the Family Dog Friendly, currently already active in almost all the villages, to the opening of the first Italian adventure park inside a tourist village, the Spina Adventures in Lido di Spina; from the Bike Experience project, a real ecosystem to bring bike tourism within the group’s villages, to the possibility of making cashless payments during the stay.
The new corporate positioning was analyzed by Francesco Giondi, managing director, who highlighted the objectives achieved in terms of digitalization and technological transformation. In 2023, an app will also be created that will give the possibility of accessing all the village services via the smartphone. “For 2023 we have several projects in the pipeline, with the aim of enhancing the offer and services: from completing the second phase of the works of the Romagna Family Village and Rimini Family Camping Village structures, to launching the Pini Beach Village,” commented Francesco Giondi, CEO of Club del Sole. “A company like ours cannot and does not want to live only on construction sites in the villages: there are important projects under construction also at the headquarters dedicated to technological innovation, to marketing automation, to the managerial growth of human capital.”
Growth by acquisition
The company also intends to continue its enlargement strategy through acquisitions. “We are observing with interest some development possibilities in Trentino-Alto Adige,” confirms Giondi. “On the one hand, opening in the mountains would allow us to have facilities open 10/11 months a year, on the other hand we think that Trentino would be a destination perfectly in line with our vision of product development. In fact, we have a specific goal in mind: to combine contact with nature and comfort and make it a lifestyle“.
The focus of Club del Sole is not only aimed at consumer customers but, through the new Workin’ Glamp project, it has opened up to the business market. It is an innovative concept that sees nature as the protagonist for corporate events; authentic experiences that allow you to explore the area and experience its energy. A wide range of proposals manages to perfectly combine the working dimension with glamor and the surrounding environment.
In the opening photo, from left: Matteo Giondi, Raffaele Giondi, Rossella Giondi, Riccardo Giondi, Francesco Giondi, Angelo E. Cartelli
For 2024 CampingCard ACSI has changed its look and is also available in a digital version