€100 million, with a growth of 16 percent compared to 2022 and an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of around €30 million. These are the economic results of the 2023 season announced yesterday by the Club del Sole, perfectly in line with expectations. The 20 villages owned by the Group – present in Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Marche, Abruzzo and on Lake Garda – recorded over 3 million visitors (+14% compared to 2022), of which the 57 percent made up of Italians.
The foreign share represented 43% of the total, indicating a growing interest on the international market towards open-air and the Club del Sole model of “strengthened village”. In this segment, the German-speaking markets (DACH, +11%), arrivals from France (+6%) and the Netherlands (+11%) recorded an increase.
The “strengthened village” model
“Summer 2023 ended with important results, in line with our expectations, indicative of a growing interest in open-air and the Club del Sole model of ‘strengthened village’, which sees the camping village model evolve to favor of ‘full life holidays’ open-air villages,” declared Angelo E. Cartelli, General Manager of Club del Sole. “The market appreciates our new positioning, an evolved offer system, which sees nature as the element which multiplies comfort. The growth percentages of the Group, more robust than the performances of the tourism sector, confirm that the direction taken is the right one“.
In 2023, Club del Sole invested over 35 million to enhance its offer, services, accommodation, and technology – from the strengthening of sports facilities with the Bike Experience and padel project to product innovations, such as the functional and structural redesign of the food&beverage sector, the installation of over 300 latest generation lodgesand the completion of the redevelopment projects of the Romagna Family Village and Rimini Family Village.
On the hospitality side, the Family Dog Friendly project, a hospitality format dedicated to 4-legged guests, was extended to all the Group’s villages, leading to an 87% increase in customers with pets in 2023, which represents 10% of the total one. On the technological front, which has always been the Group’s focus and distinctive factor, the website has been completely renovated, the My Club del Sole app has been refined, and the cashless system has been strengthened.
The prospects for the future
For the future, Club del Sole plans strategic investments in ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance), indices to which the company has always been committed. Among the projects on the subject of sustainability, 2023 saw the launch of the RE-TREE-T format at the Spina Family Camping Village, an innovative hospitality laboratory, based on bioclimatic design and in harmony with nature, which recently received the prestigious international Big See Tourism Design Awards 2023.
“The important recognition that the RE-TREE-T project has obtained demonstrates how much the market appreciates the creation of innovative tourism in symbiosis with nature and confirms our attention to the theme of sustainability,” said Cartelli. “After a complex summer which ended with a very positive result, we are looking forward to 2024 with enthusiasm and with new challenging projects, with the aim of making our accommodation offer increasingly innovative and sustainable”.
Still on the subject of sustainability, during the TTG Travel Experience, Angelo Cartelli will speak at the Travel Innovation Observatory conference entitled “Growth, sustainability, and innovation: between reality and utopia“, scheduled for Thursday October 12th from 10.30 to 12.30 at Rimini Fair (Main Arena – Hall South).
