It comes as industry leaders report an increase in the number of holidaymakers opting for the road and the great outdoors - whether seeking a "digital detox" or just a cheaper staycation.
Central Statistics Office figures confirm there were 21,666 campervans under licence in the Republic last year. This includes almost 8,000 newly registered since 2020 alone - the year the pandemic altered the landscape for tourism.
Con Quill, who represents some hundred campsites on the island of Ireland as CEO of the Irish Caravan and Camping Council, said the pandemic provided a "boost, but it was growing before that, and the growth is continuing even following Covid".
Mr Quill, who runs Blarney Caravan and Camping Park in Co. Cork, said camping holidays - whether vehicles or tents are used as accommodation - are "more affordable for people as a holiday".
Low-cost air fares to popular destinations have been harder to come by this year, while hotels at home remain too expensive for many families feeling the cost-of-living squeeze.
As much as anything, Mr Quill said, people book camping holidays for the "freedom and the closeness to nature".
Sarah Cooke, who runs the campervan rental company Cookies Campers in Rathcoole, Co. Dublin, said the "need for digital detox" is "driving the entire market", among both "busy professionals looking to switch off and families looking to escape screens".
She said: "People want to come and they just want to switch off, throw the phone in the bin and not hear from anyone, from civilisation.
"Our lives are so stressful and digital that getting out into a campervan and escaping in nature is definitely driving [the trend]."
Read more
Ms Cooke said camp sites here have "great facilities" and many "are right along the coast, often at the back of the sand dunes".
"They've got great facilities for kids - swings and slides and everything you need. And often during the summer holidays or Easter there'll be different things like Easter egg trails or even things at Halloween.
"So there are definitely activities in campsites that would attract people," she added.
Visitors from overseas are even more enamoured by the idea of the campervan holiday, Ms Cooke said - around 70% of her customers come from abroad.
And it appears they have a more weather-resistant approach to their itineraries than the typical Irish holidaymakers.
"I think the domestic market is a bit more in touch with what the weather's like in Ireland. But coming from America, somewhere sunny like California, they actually like a bit of rain."
Many of her overseas customers "just follow the sun".
"We had a lady came last week from America, and it was lashing rain here in Dublin. And next thing I could see, she had beautiful pictures of sunny Blarney up on her Instagram.
"She looked at where there was sun on the weather app and just went there, and a lot of them do that. They're just going where the sun is."
Ms Cooke said most Irish people would "think it was madness" to drive the length of the country in pursuit of a few hours' sunshine.
"But they're travelling from huge states like Wyoming and Colorado, so they're used to these huge distances," she said.
Dingle is the most popular spot for her customers, with the vast majority of visitors wanting to experience the "unbelievable marketing feat" that has been the Wild Atlantic Way.
And most will "treat themselves" by spending a night or two in a four- or five-star hotel along the way.
CSO figures show a 20% increase in camping tourists from overseas last year compared with 2023.
Separately, figures from Revenue confirm there were 2,483 new campervan registrations last year, including 1,052 that were converted from normal vans, a trend that has been growing in popularity on social media platforms such as TikTok.
The total number of licensed campervans last year is more than double the 10,257 that were on the roads (or parked in driveways) ten years ago.
Read more
* This article was originally published on BusinessPlus.ie.
Comments