The main players in outdoor tourism met in Tuscany last Saturday March 16th. The merit of having brought together the regional councilor for tourism, the director of Toscana Promozione, the director of FAITA-FederCamping Toscana, the president of Assocamp (association of dealers, workshops, and renters of recreational vehicles), the president of ACTItalia and a farsighted mayor goes to Paolo Bacci, owner of the Caravanbacci dealership in Crespina Lorenzana. It was, among other things, the first event to celebrate the company’s 50 years of activity.
The session was moderated by Michela Bagatella, Plein Air journalist. The result of this meeting? An update on Tuscan policies regarding traveling tourism and the presentation of some interesting data on the environmental impact of motorhome tourism, on the habits of campers and on the average daily expenditure of those who prefer this type of holiday.
The motorhome, an extraordinary vehicle
Francesco Tapinassi, director of Toscana Promozione, explained that the agency is working on a shared draft of a charter of values, a welcome manifesto, and a specific promotion campaign dedicated to tourism with caravans and motorhomes. Furthermore, it collaborates with Caravanbacci for the production of video and photographic materialto support the promotional campaign.
“We did it not only in the belief that this is a very important sector for the regional economy, but also because we think it has all the characteristics to better appreciate a certain way of traveling in our region,” declared Tapinassi. “68% of Tuscany is made up of hills and villages. Here you can find the very essence of Tuscany and the motorhome is an extraordinary way to visit it.”
Regional contributions
Leonardo Marras, regional councilor with responsibilities for tourism and the hotel industry, has the task of summarizing the work carried out so far in favor of accommodation facilities that welcome traveling tourists. The first call form proposal, launched in 2022, provided economic contributions for those municipalities interested in creating motorhome rest areas. The objective was not only to develop a public reception network in more fragile and less known territories to respond to tourism demand, but also to respond to all users of recreational vehicles purchased in Tuscany.
“We are the European capital of this industrial sector,” Marras said. “Through the motorhome, different skills and abilities which are intertwined in extraordinary supply chains are brought together, consolidating an important production and work that has been highly developed in recent years. We therefore wanted to represent Tuscany also from this angle, offering the public places to benefit from hospitality services“.
The Municipality of Gaiole in Chianti, famous for the Eroica cycling event, was one of the first to equip itself with a dedicated motorhome rest area, also thanks to regional funds. “Ours is the story of a small reality that is experiencing a good period of development,” said Michele Pescini, mayor of Gaiole in Chianti. “Our municipality has 2,600 inhabitants and has made this now international event grow. Motorhome and Eroica have a great affinity and therefore today we inaugurated our motorhome rest area. We received a contribution of over €40,000, even though we spent much more, and we have already received excellent approval even before the inauguration: motorhome owners have said that they will spend their money in our shops and this is precisely the reason why which we have decided to make this investment“.
The farmhouse and motorhome rest areas
Councilor Marras then explained that after this first experience, work began to regulate and disseminate a more inclusive hospitality proposal. “We were the first in Italy to regulate agricamping, defining the camping activity and allowing agritourisms to offer hospitality to motorhomes too,” he said. “Each of these structures can create up to 12 pitches, thus spreading a myriad of customized solutions across the regional territory. Then we faced the discussion on the consolidated text on tourism, which needs a major revision. Campsites are the ideal place to offer hospitality to recreational vehicles and for this reason we hope for a regulation that comes from the national government, given that this tourist offer is the one that has developed the most in recent years“.
Finally, considering that coastal campsites welcome the majority of regional tourism, he once again wanted to place emphasis on motorhomes rest areas, which are seen as tourist-accommodation activities and not as car parks. “The motorhome rest area needs to upgrade as an economic activity,” explained Marras. “For this reason, we have defined in a regulation, which must be discussed and approved by the regional council, what a motorhome rest area is. Here there must not be a maximum limit of stay. And we have included the possibility of creating common structures, such as sanitaries, and we have given the possibility of opening services, such as shops or refreshment points. They cannot be areas that become specialized to the point of entering into competition with the campsite, and therefore a limit of maximum 50 pitches was necessary to insert it“.
Cutting-edge research from Ergo
At the center of the meeting was the presentation of data from research carried out by Ergo, a spin-off of the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa in collaboration with ACTItalia and UCA. Presented by Fabio Iraldo, Full Professor of Management, it was defined as “a challenge from the point of view of innovation, cutting-edge research“. Not so much for the theme, given that it is clear that the environment and tourism influence each otherwith a significant environmental impact, but for the use of “primary” data, collected directly from motorhomers and then compared with those of more traditional holidays, and for the duration of the survey: 9 months versus the more traditional 3.
Carried out from August 2022 to April 2023, the collection produced the return of 1,958 questionnaires, studied as if they were logbooks. Having 248,300 vehicles circulating in Italy, this is a statistically more than significant sample: around 500 questionnaires would have been enough to obtain reliable results. In this way, even after eliminating all the questionnaires that in some way might not have been reliable, the remaining number produced a very accurate picture.
The methodology used is now consolidated and recognised, if not substantially imposed, by the European Union: the Life Cycle Assessment, which evaluates the environmental impact at 360 degrees, considering everything that carrying out the holiday: travel, stay, meals, air conditioning, and so on. It was thus discovered that a crew is made up on average of 2.27 adults and 0.37 children, that the kilometers traveled were 2,367, with 13.7 nights and 9.7 meals away from home, 7.3 kg of gas consumed, 364.3 liters of water used, 22.3 kWh of electricity.
The environmental impact of a motorhome holiday
There are 5 main categories of environmental impact taken into consideration: climate change (CO2 emissions), particulate emissions, acidification (indicator of potential acidification of soil and water due to the release of gas), use of fossil resources and water consumption. In each of these, the use of the motorhome, meals at the bar or restaurant, meals in the camper, gas, electricity and water consumption, and waste production were assessed.
The use of the motorhome is the one that contributes the most in every category except for that which concerns water consumption.
Comparing the motorhome holiday with the car + hotel formula, the former has a much more limited influence:compared to that of the “traditional” holiday, the motorhome has an impact equal to 64% in the use of fossil resources, 70% in climate change, 73% in water consumption and 95% in acidification. The only parameter in which the motorhome holiday is worse is that relating to particulate emissions, where cars reach 72%. This is the confirmation of what one could intuitively imagine.
Italian people like Italy and spend a lot of money on holiday
As for the habits of motorhomers, the research highlighted how 35.5% travel with an overcab, 35% with a semi-integrated vehicle, 15.7% with an integrated and 13.8% with a camper van. At crew level, 76.8% are made up of a couple. 28% went abroad and 72% remained in Italy, 42% choosing cities of art (8%), naturalistic destinations (13%) or small villages (21%), the rest (57 %) was divided between sea and mountains.
To dispel the myth that motorhomers bring everything from home and leave no money in the area comes the figure of 98% of those who purchase typical products, 91% agri-food products, 7% handicrafts. And when they go out to eat, 97% opt for traditional local cuisine. During the 13.7 nights of the average stay, motorhomers consume 3.1 breakfasts, 4.92 lunches and 4.87 dinners in local restaurants. In total the average expenditure per person per day is €97.80, with 99% of people who are aware of bringing an economic contribution to the territory.
Of the accommodation facilities in the area, 31% of motorhome owners ask for well-connected shuttles, 30% ask for year-round opening, 27% ask for a greater quantity and quality of services, and 12% ask for more facilities. Instead, they ask local administrators for quality motorhome rest areas (57%), well-connected rest areas (54%), an increase in areas (51%), information dedicated to motorhome tourism (29%), and an increase in campsites (14 %).
The challenge of expanding the season
FAITA-FederCamping was asked for a commitment to help expanding the season. “The facilities have many employees, even hundreds, and are often in all respects large companies, sometimes with thousands of beds,” explained Enrico Paoli, director of FAITA Toscana. “We are raising awareness among our members. What has been seen for some years is an expansion of the season in many tourist companies. From the typical 4 months of duration we arrived at an early opening in mid-March to close at the end of October. Fortunately, we are no longer faced with family structures, but with small industries that have been able to increase the quality level of the offer“.
In this regard, Paoli explained that especially on the coast there are not only series A, but luxury structures. “Our campsites are of a very high standard. Those who travel in motorhomes are increasingly asking for more services, quality, and space. Today we are in the midst of a change of scenery and, as a trade association, FAITA also deals with motorhome rest areas and not just campsites. Those who use motorhomes have always come to our facilities and that’s why I feel at home here“.
An improvable situation
Guido Chiari, president of ACTItalia, underlined that the situation of motorhome rest areas in Italy can be improved. “When we look at the statistics we talk about 2,000 motorhome rest areas, but when we travel we realize that the ‘real’ ones are very few. Congratulations therefore to the administrations who make an effort to offer a quality offer. Our Yellow Flag project is a recognition that we give on the occasion of the Salone del Camper to administrations that create quality motorhome rest areas. The motorhome rest areas are open 365 days a year and for this reason they must be encouraged and promoted“.
Assocamp’s vision
The honor of closing the day of work fell to Ester Bordino, president of Assocamp: “In Europe, from 2020 to 2023, over 900,000 motorhomes and caravans were registered, which sooner or later will also arrive in Italy. And we are not ready to welcome them“. The number of motorhome rest areas is in fact much lower than those present in countries such as France or Germany, but it is not – according to Assocamp – the only problem.
“When we sell or rent a motorhome, we are also a bit of an advisor to our customers, who often ask us where they can go. And we happen to not respond because we have the problem of closed campsites (out of season, ed.). Here in Tuscany, including the Island of Elba, the ACSI 2023 Guide lists 95 campsites, of which only 7 are open all year round. We need to ensure that at least some of these facilities remain open for 12 months. The motorhome is the means par excellence to expand the season, but we need the campsites to be open and the motorhome rest areas to be in greater numbers.”
Bordino also expressed his different vision from that of councilor Marras regarding the possibility of prolonged stays in motorhome rest areas (“I wouldn’t want them to become permanent places“) and then closed by relaunching an idea that the association supports: “We are working with our friends from UCA, who have been carrying out this initiative for some time, to ensure that some dedicated parking spaces for motorhomes will be created in hospital facilities, thus meeting the needs of families who need to be close to their loved ones during visits or hospitalisation“.
