Huttopia arrives in Belgium: the end of “papa camping” in the Semois Valley – Immo
The French group Huttopia arrives in Belgium. His first campsite will be established in the Ardennes, along the Semois. A page is turning for “papa camping” by the river.
The ax has just fallen, the campsite “Le Héron”, in the town of Vresse-Sur-Semois, has been sold. It has 130 residential caravans. The owners, mainly vacationers, are asked to vacate the premises by January 31, 2022.
Arnaud Allard, owner and operator of the campsite, who is also the mayor of the town, confirms this to us : “I am forced to sell otherwise I risked ending up in bankruptcy“.
It is the family and independent French company Huttopia which acquired. The company is a benchmark in the ecotourism sector. It is developing “an innovative holiday offer combining comfort, nature and aesthetics, called Glamping”, we can read on its site.
Arnaud Allard explains: “Huttopia was on the lookout for some time to acquire land in the region. They buy knowingly. They raise a site empty of any occupation to make a campsite only passing through, with tents and small chalets. Not for long term residents.
Huttopia is already present in France with 38 destinations, in the Netherlands (one campsite) and even in the United States and Canada. By buying this land in the town of Vresse, the group is establishing its first establishment on Belgian soil.
First Huttopia campsite in Belgium
The 8 hectare zone along the river covers an attraction for investors. “I have already turned down offers on several occasions, but Huttopia’s one stuck the most to my sustainability values. a real godsend for the region that such a qualitative family business is setting its sights on our campsite. The arrival of Huttopia will create jobs and offer quality rental accommodation. For the region, it’s positive “, comments Arnaud Allard who also says he is sympathetic to the regulars of his campsite who have to leave it suddenly after, for some, several generations of occupation.
“This is the beginning of the end of residential riverside campsites that will take place at passing campsites “
According to the entrepreneur, residential caravan campsites no longer really have their place in flood zones, or at least by the river, because of the flood maps which are constantly reviewed. “ It should be understood that the flood zones attracted 400%. I went from 20 floodable sites in 2020, to 91 impacted in 2021, and that, before the floods in July. Without playing at guessing, in the months and years to come, we are going to toughen all that up even more “. The type of rental and more flexible camping pitches like those at Huttopia are therefore less impacted. by these urban constraints.
The end of “papa’s camping”
A page turns. The evacuation of the Héron campsite thus presages the end of a certain type of holiday by the river in our Ardennes, the heyday of which dates back to the 1980s. Arnaud Allard himself admits: “This is the beginning of the end of residential riverside campsites that will take place at transit campsites.“ It is not excluded that other campsites in the region are facing the same concerns, predicts the entrepreneur.
The new owners will take possession of the site of the former Héron campsite in the course of 2022. Contacted by us, the press officer of the Huttopia group informs us that the group is not prefer not to communicate on the project before 2022.
The ax has just fallen, the campsite “Le Héron”, in the town of Vresse-Sur-Semois, has been sold. It has 130 residential caravans. The owners, mainly holidaymakers, are asked to vacate the premises by January 31, 2022. Arnaud Allard, owner and operator of the campsite, who is also the mayor of the town, confirms this: “I am forced to sell otherwise I risked finding myself in a situation of bankruptcy “. It is the family and independent French company Huttopia which acquired. The company is a benchmark in the ecotourism sector. It is developing “an innovative holiday offer combining comfort, nature and aesthetics, called Glamping”, we can read on its site. Arnaud Allard explains: “Huttopia had been on the lookout for some time for land to acquire in the region. They are buying with full knowledge of the facts. They have bought a land empty of any occupation to make a campsite only passing through, with tents and small chalets. Not for long-term residents. “Huttopia is already present in France with 38 destinations, in the Netherlands (one campsite) and even in the United States and Canada. By purchasing this land in the town of Vresse, the group is establishing its first establishment on Belgian soil. The 8 hectare zone bordering the river is an undeniable attraction for investors. “I have already turned down offers on several occasions, but Huttopia’s offer was most in keeping with my values of sustainability. It is a real boon for the region that a family business is also setting its sights on our campsite. arrival of Huttopia will be able to create jobs, and offer quality rental accommodation. For the region, it’s positive, “comments Arnaud Allard who also says he is sympathetic with the regulars of his campsite who must suddenly leave it afterwards, to some, several generations of occupation. According to the contractor, residential caravan campsites no longer really have their place in flood zones, or at least by rivers, because of the flood maps which are constantly reviewed. “You have to understand that the flood zones have triggered by 400%. I go from 20 flooding locations in 2020, to 91 impacts in 2021, and that, before the floods in July. Without playing at guessing, in the months and months. years to come, we are going to toughen it all up. The type of rental and more flexible camping pitches like those of Huttopia are therefore less impacted by the new regulations of the Walloon Region. The evacuation of the Héron campsite thus presages the end of a certain type of holiday by the river in our Ardennes, the heyday of which dates back to the 1980s. Arnaud Allard himself admits: “It is the beginning of the end of residential campsites on the banks of the river which will give way to temporary campsites.” It is not excluded that other campsites in the region are facing the same concerns, predicts the entrepreneur. The new owners will take possession of the Héron campsite in the course of 2022. Contacted by us, the press officer of the Huttopia group informs us that the group does not prefer to communicate on the project before 2022.