Is going away in your own country an option for fewer and fewer Dutch people? The prices of campsites and bungalow parks rose again last month. A stay at the campsite has changed as a result, sees Gerrie Brands, who stayed at the same park for 52 years.
Campsites and bungalow parks raise their prices every year in July, but prices rose as sharply as last month, which is certainly not the case.
Not for everyone anymore
This month you will pay an average of 40 percent more for a camping pitch or bungalow than in July, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) calculated. Prices are 14 percent higher than last year. This is partly due to the rise in energy prices and wage costs.
The campsite used to be a place where people with a somewhat tighter budget could also go for their holiday. But with these price increases, that is the case in fewer and fewer places.
also look at
More and more Dutch holiday parks are in foreign hands, which not everyone is happy with
‘It’s been nice’
Gerrie and her husband Harry Brands, both 72, also see this. Last April, after more than 50 years at the same campsite in Renesse, they handed in the key to their chalet. It would have been nice for the couple from Dordrecht, who have since moved to a senior home in the same village where they spent half a century on vacation.
Although their first time was a long time ago, Gerrie still remembers how they ended up at the campsite in the tourist village by the sea in 1973. “We wanted to go on holiday with our then 2-year-old daughter. Not too far, but nice and away. In a booklet from the ANWB we found a nice family campsite on the Zeeland coast.”
Jerry and her husband Harry
Always something to do
That campsite offered everything the then young family was looking for in a holiday: “We really enjoyed being there. With the beach nearby, lots of greenery and always something to do for the children and for us. A lot was organized , especially in the summer, from a hexathlon to the annual big playback show and pony rides, there was something to do every day.”
After renting a house on the campsite for a few years in a row, Gerrie and Harry bought a mobile home and later a more luxurious chalet. Going on holiday abroad was not an option for them. They had a great time at the campsite. “We were busy there all day, had a great time. Why would you go abroad?”
Changed a lot
What made staying at the campsite even more fun, says Gerrie, was that there were many more people who came back every year just like them. “We really built something together. We became friends, it felt like one big family at a certain point.”
In the 50 years that Gerrie and Harry spent on the campsite, they saw the company change considerably. Especially after it changed hands more than 5 years ago. The couple who had always run the company retired and sold it to a large holiday park group. And that makes a lot of difference, says Gerrie.
‘The soul is gone’
“In the past there was always something to do, because the owners organized everything together with us. Nowadays you have to hope that you will find a nice animation team if you have children,” says Gerrie. “Things are also much less maintained these days, the terrain is a bit devoured. There is less supervision.”
She thinks this has everything to do with the fact that camping is no longer run by entrepreneurs with a heart for the business, but by a large group. “The soul is a bit out and that causes regular guests to disappear one by one. That they no longer feel wanted. We had that too.”
Own, old photos of the campsite
For the rich
Gerrie has the idea that making money is especially important for the new owner. “It’s as commercial as it gets.” The chalet that Gerrie and Harry stayed in for years also has to make way for a more luxurious variant, now that they are out.
A stay at a somewhat larger Dutch campsite is becoming more and more for the rich, says Gerrie. “You now pay about 1,800 euros per week for a chalet like ours. Normally prices went up by 4 percent per year, last time it was 10 percent. Where does this stop? I sometimes wonder. many guests without a permanent place, often 2 weeks, but that has become a week, or shorter. People can no longer afford it.”
Be a kid again
But, Gerrie emphasizes, the fact that things have been a bit disappointing at the campsite in the past 5 years does not mean that they have forgotten all the beautiful memories from before. What does she fondly remember? “That must be the annual big playback show, in the middle of the summer,” says Gerrie with a smile in her voice.
“Weeks before that we were busy with old pieces of fabric that we made our outfits from, we had so much fun, felt like a child again.”
also look at
The Netherlands is going en masse to the caravan or camper, but there is no longer room for that at the campsite
To ask? Ask them!
Do you have any questions or do you want to respond? Send us a message here in our chat.
2023-08-20 05:30:01
#Gerrie #Harry #campsite #years #place #change #considerably #rich
