Immaculate Martinez | València (EFE).- The world of motorhomes has become another “serious” tourist alternative in recent years and any segment of the market is a potential client, but it is campers that are living their “golden age”, because they monopolize a third of the sales of these mobile homes whose inhabitants are committed to the environment.
Until a few years ago these vehicles attracted 5% of the market but currently it is 100% of the market to which the offer of these vehicles is directed; For rent, the majority profile is families with children and couples, and for purchase it focuses on couples.
The sector highlights the advances in sustainability and reducing the carbon footprint of this type of tourism, from manufacturing designed to lighten the vehicle to give it greater capacity and consume less fuel, systems to reduce gas, heating and water consumption, to the informative work of the concessionaire that is reflected in a small manual on behavior and respect for the environment.
The manufacturer Benimar
Benimar, with three factories for motorhomes, minivans and specific furniture for this type of vehicle in Peñíscola and Benicarló (Castellón), is the only one in Spain that manufactures these vehicles industrially.
Its manager, Fernando Ortiz, assures EFE that the tourist restrictions established by the covid-19 pandemic led many people to try this type of tourism and many “have stayed”, and highlights its environmental advantages since its construction does not have a big impact and its carbon footprint is low and much smaller than a plane or a cruise ship.
In addition, it has a positive impact on the destination with purchases in supermarkets and typical products of the area or consumption in restaurants by users, and requires a minimum infrastructure.
The profile of early-retired or retired elderly people has been changing in the last decade to users of working age, in their thirties in the case of campers, who use it as a multi-purpose vehicle, and from 40 years of age in motorhomes.
Benimar, belonging to the French group Trigano since 2002, manufactures motorhomes at its plant in Peñíscola, where it invoices 200 million euros and employs 350 people with a production volume of 3,500 vehicles per year.
It has another plant for campers, of which it produces 2,500 units per year with 150 workers and invoices 100 million, and a furniture factory for mobile homes. The company has another factory that it has not been able to start for the moment due to lack of supply of automotive materials.
Las campers
According to the manager of the AC-LLAR dealership, which exclusively sells Benimar products in the province of Valencia, campervan sales have grown by more than 100% compared to five years ago and already represent 30% of total motorhome sales. .
Enrique Rita, also a spokesman in the Valencian Community for the employers’ association ASEICAR, believes that sales of motorhomes and campers will continue, although the supply is restricted due to the production difficulties faced by the entire automotive sector as a result of the lack of components.
“Demand has been consolidated in purchase and rental, we are a serious sector and committed to generating as little waste as possible,” according to Rita.
The user’s profile
For rent, the majority profile is couples and families with children, but there are also groups of friends who choose it to attend festivals or great sports prizes and for professional matters, although in these cases its use is still incipient.
If we talk about buying, the couple also predominates but the customer segments come into play depending on the type of motorhome (camper or equipped van, high capuchin motorhome with bed, profiled motorhome without height, and integral).
Good expectations in campsites
In the campsites of the Valencian Community, 1.25 million travelers stayed in 2022, which represented a 20.7% increase compared to the previous year, according to data from the Camping Federation.
The campsites expect a good occupation for this summer both in plots (caravans and motorhomes) and in cabins and, although there is no data at the moment, the sensations are positive, indicate sources from this entity.
In Spain and by nationality, the number of resident travelers decreased by 1.7% compared to 2021, and foreign travelers grew by 106.7% compared to the previous year, figures that are distorted by the effects of mobility restrictions derived of the pandemic.
The number of overnight stays in campsites estimated for the whole of 2022 was 9.3 million, 25.1% more, with the Valencian Community in second position.
Affordable prices?
New motorhomes cost between 58,000 and 100,000 euros, but it must be taken into account that they are long-lasting vehicles and there is a wide used market.
Renting them depends on the time of year: a weekend in low season is about 300 euros for three full days, and in high season it rises to between 140 and 200 euros per day. EFE