The 2026 tourist season opens with a significant new development for campsites in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, one of the leading destinations in north-eastern Germany. From early April, the new regulation on forest distances came into force, providing greater flexibility for existing sites. The main innovation concerns the possibility, in specific cases, of derogating from the legal 30-metre distance from the forest, which nevertheless remains valid.
The measure applies only to already existing campsites which, thanks to the derogation, will be able to undergo modernisation works in order to meet the standards required by contemporary tourism: from next-generation sanitary facilities to accessible infrastructure, through to energy-efficient buildings and more advanced services. The objective is clear: to improve the overall quality of the offer and respond ever more effectively to guests’ expectations.
Tourism development without giving up environmental protection
The new regulation also opens up interesting scenarios on the investment side. When the renovation of existing structures is not economically sustainable, it will be possible to authorise new replacement buildings on the same site. In particular cases, small extensions or slight relocations within the area already occupied by the campsite will also be permitted.
As Till Backhaus, Minister of Agriculture and the Environment, underlined, the new regulation gives operators greater certainty in planning, allowing them to invest in quality without unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles slowing down development projects.
A central aspect of the measure is that this greater flexibility will not come at the expense of environmental protection. The rule, in fact, facilitates the necessary upgrades while firmly maintaining the principle of protecting forest areas, combining tourism development with the safeguarding of natural heritage.
The overall framework of guarantees also remains unchanged: the new provisions concern exclusively already existing campsites, and all interventions will continue to have to comply with building, environmental and safety regulations, in addition to forest protection obligations. In this way, the sector will be able to evolve more smoothly, without giving up the fundamental principles of sustainability and territorial protection.
Photo: apertur 2.8
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