Park it: campervans are valuable to tourism

“County councillors demanding more powers to control campervan parking,” was a headline recently in your newspaper.

This comment is typical of the uninformed and negative views of many county councillors and of many who work in tourism. The belief is that campervans and camper tourism “contribute nothing to the economy, park illegally, litter the countryside and represent an economic threat to hotels, and bed-and-breakfasts and are, and should be, actively discouraged”. In addition to paying campsite charges, camper tourists purchase fuel, food, souvenirs, visit heritage sites, and, believe it or not, frequently eat out in restaurants.

Having camped for forty years with my wife and family, both under canvas and in a campervan, in Ireland and Europe, I can assure you that nothing is further from the truth. Campers, young and old, are a significant segment of European tourism, as borne out by the huge numbers of high-quality camper parks all over Europe, many of which are open throughout the year.

Our Irish campsites, with a few notable exceptions, leave a lot to be desired in terms of availability, maintenance standards and value-for-money.

A four-star European campsite, typically with a pool or beach access, restaurant, shop, children’s playground, WI-FI, etc., costs me €15 per night, all-in. Contrast this with a charge of €29 for one night in an indifferent Wexford municipal campsite, plus €3 each for showers.

Camping tourism must be acknowledged as a valuable and largely untapped Irish resource. Councillors, and the tourism industry, need to recognise this and, rather than seeking to restrict camper-parking, should lobby for the development of additional, high-quality campsites to attract more Irish and European campers.

Noel Howard

Dooniskey,

Lissarda

Co Cork