L ARG E ST C AM PI N G C L U B I N E U RO PE [C ARAVAN SAL O N ] President Of Deutscher Camping Club [DCC] Discusses Discounts & The Camping Community At RV Confab In Dusseldorf Camping Clubs around the globe provide information but more importantly a sense of community. The Deutscher Camping Club [DCC], one of the biggest organizations of its kind in Europe has over 30,000 member families and lists over 12,000 campsites, including many with discounts. DCC President Andreas Jorn sat down with The Buzz at Caravan Salon to discuss the camping community throughout Germany and Europe. T he B uz z : C o ul d yo u d e s c r ib e w ha t t he c a mp ing c o mmunit y is l ik e he r e in G e r ma ny? A nd r e a s J o r n: There is a very big amount of people driving, loving camping, and driving with caravans and motorhomes throughout Germany. T he B uz z : N o w w it h yo ur s p e c if ic c l ub, ho w d o e s t ha t w o r k? H o w d o p e o p l e jo in? H o w d o t he y f ig ur e o ut w ha t ' s g o ing o n? W ha t d o yo u o f f e r? A J : A J : In Germany, we are the one and only working camping association. We have about 30,000 membership families. That means we are speaking for about 100,000 campers. Those campers are able to drive and tent, to use the [vehicle] to drive by caravan to drive by motorhome. And as our members, they have the possibility to join friends. They can have a discount on certain books, which we are publishing. ]And] they get a membership newspaper. We are the association which is in charge to look for the perfect standing for those campers. We want to speak for the campers against, and
with the campsites, the industry and the government. T he B uz z : W ha t a r e t he s t a nd a r d s r ig ht no w, a nd w ha t a r e yo u t r ying t o imp r o ve t ha t p e o p l e w a nt? Y o u w e r e t a l k ing a b o ut s t a nd a r d s in c a mp s it e s. W ha t is t ha t s t a nd a r d r ig ht no w, a nd w ha t d o t he c o ns ume r s, t he me mb e r s, w a nt imp r o ve d? A J : That's a very difficult question because there are many campers who have different wishes for their holidays. We have campers who want to have luxury, and like to use the glamping opportunities. There are campers who want to just have the camping at its purest. Others are just driving the motorhome there. We have in Germany the so-called "stellpletze". That's places where normally just motorhomes are allowed to use. We try to be the connection for all their different interests. Our main purpose is to publish a printing issue of a camp guide which is especially for Europe. And also we have an online platform which hosts about 12,000 campsites. T he B uz z : F o r r e s e r va t io ns? A J : No. Not yet. Not yet for reservation. We just give the people the opportunity to choose the different campsites which they want. And we try to succeed in giving our members as much discount possibilities on those campsites as possible. T he B uz z : S o t w o q ue s t io ns. H o w d o p e o p l e b e c o me me mb e r s? A nd t he n, s e c o nd o f a l l, w he n t he y w a nt t o t a k e a d va nt a g e o f t ho s e d is c o unt s, d o t he y ha ve t o l o o k in t he g uid e t o f ind d if f e r e nt c a mp g r o und s t he y l ik e a nd a me nit ie s o r ho w d o e s t ha t w o r k? A J : A J : You can fulfill an online form. You can also come in as a member on the internet, or at the fairs like the Düsseldorf fair. And also by fulfilling or writing to us to Munich. And we also have the possibility to sell this magazine at a normal kiosk to get more publicity and to make it very precise that camping is a very profound and exclusive hobby. In every [one of our membership] newspapers, we have, for example, the possibility that people could fulfill the formula and become members of the DCC, and then they receive a membership card.
T he B uz z : C a n t he y c a n o nl y jo in a t c e r t a in p o int s in t he ye a r? A J : They can be a member 365 days a year, become members on 365 days a year, and 24 hours because they just have to fulfill that. This also is on the Internet. T he B uz z : W ha t a r e yo ur c o nne c t io ns t o t he c a mp g r o und s, s p e c if ic a l l y? D o t he y c o me t o yo u? D o yo u g o t o t he m? H o w d o e s int e r a c t io n w o r k? A J : We are publishing a camp guide, and therefore, we have contact with every campsite, which is listed in that camp guide. We have two parts. For the discount, we have two different varieties. The discount is that a DCC membership family pays in the pre-season is 13.5 and on the main season 15 for as many people as are connected in that family. And with that database, we can contact all the campsites, which are listed in here. T he B uz z : A nd t he b r e a k d o w n o f t he c a mp s it e s, it g o e s b e t w e e n f a mil y, w e l l ne s s? A J : It is the possibility in that point you can choose which campsite you prefer. So therefore, you can say, "I want to have it with wellness." But on the other it says, "No. No wellness." But I want to have a family-friendly campsite (www.3in1campen.de). The reason for the three is we list campsites, we list the campsite one for the motorhomes (Class B), one for the trailers, and the third thin is on the farm that's campsites which are laid out on a farming equipment. T he B uz z : T ha t ' s unus ua l. A J : That's possible in Germany. If you have a farm, you can say, "Okay, I want to make a campsite, and I want to allow people to camp at my farm." T he B uz z : S o t he s e a r e mo s t l y a l l p r iva t e c a mp g r o und s? N o t hing t o d o w it h g o ve r nme nt r e g ul a t io n? A J : No, that's private. Privately owned. Campsites in Germany could be in private ownership, they could be in the ownership of towns and communities, and it could be also in the ownership of a government. We, for example, the DCC we also own two campsites. T he B uz z : W ha t d o yo u f ind p e o p l e a r e b uying no w? A r e t he y b uying mo s t l y t r a il e r s? H o w is t ha t e vo l ving r ig ht no w, b e c a us e o f p l a c e s l ik e C a r a va n S a l o n, s p e c if ic a l l y in D e ut s c hl a nd. A J : A J : Okay. If you have a percentage, [the biggest] percentage is Class B vehicles. That's the main things people buy. And the second thing is the caravans. In former times, we had only caravans. Then the class B vehicles were put in the market [because of the new license]. And right now, just to answer your first question, the
pedal is going back a little bit more to the caravans. T he B uz z : W hy is t ha t? A J : If you use a caravan, you simply have more space. And if you are going on a bigger vacation, you have the possibility to do more things. If you are on a campsite and want to do some sight-seeing, every morning you have to pack everything inside the motorhome, the Class B vehicle. If you are with a caravan, you leave the caravan at the campsite, and just board your car, and drive with the car for sight-seeing. T he B uz z : A nd w ha t d o t he y l ik e t o d o he r e? I me a n is it mo r e a d ve nt ur e, mus e ums? A J : It s simple to say because it's mixed. There are people who love cultural adventures. There are people who love adventurous things for sight-seeing. And normally the radius around the campsite is up to 100 kilometers. T he B uz z : A nd a s f a r a s t he r a d ius a r o und G e r ma ny, d o yo u s e e t ha t mo s t o f t he me mb e r s t r a ve l a r o und E ur o p e? O r d o t he y mo s t l y s t a y f o r b a s ic a l l y s t a yc a t io ns ins id e G e r ma ny? A J : No. Our members are very proud to have the possibility to drive around and visit all the countries of Europe. The direction which the members prefer is a little bit linked to the political everyday situation. T he B uz z : S o mo s t l y l ik e F r a nc e, S c a nd ina via - - A J : France, Scandinavia, Croatia, Spain, Portugal-- T he B uz z : M o r e W e s t e r n E ur o p e. A J : A J : Right now, as far as we know, there are less people, for example, driving to Turkey or something like that.
T he B uz z : N o w, d o t he d is c o unt s o nl y c o unt in G e r ma ny? A J : We have campsites in the whole of Europe. You can see it in the camp guide for example, with that color, that's outside of Germany. If it's yellow with those lines on top, then that's a possibility for a discount. T he B uz z : A l s o in t he U S, w it h c a mp ing c l ub s, t he r e ' s t ime s w he n p e o p l e a l l g e t t o g e t he r l ik e r a l l ie s. D o e s t ha t ha p p e n w he r e p e o p l e a l l g e t t o g e t he r, w he t he r it b e t he p r imit ive o r w he t he r it b e t he l ux ur y? A J : That is a perfect question for us. In Germany, there is normally no difference between the luxury and the middle-class camper because the camp -- it's like you are driving to holidays with the plane. Some holidays if you want to spend a special holiday, then you spend more money, and sometimes you say, "I want to go to holidays but not spend much money," then you take different campsites. T he B uz z : T ha t is t he d if f e r e nc e t o t he U S. B e c a us e C l a s s A p e o p l e s o me t ime s g e t t o g e t he r, l ik e t he p e o p l e w ho o w n W inne b a g o s c o mp a r a t ive t o t he p e o p l e w ho o w n S yl va n S p o r t s. A J : We offer about 300 possibilities a year for our members to meet, which is set in the newspaper. We are organizing a world meeting for campers in 2018 from the 27th of July to the 4th of August in 2018, which will take part in Berlin. And we are thinking about 3,000 people who will all meet there. T he B uz z : A s t he p r e s id e nt o f t he D C C, ho w d id yo u g e t int o c a mp ing? A J : I started with camping at the age of 16 with a little tent. It developed, the tent got bigger and bigger, then I bought a caravan, a little one that also grew up. Right now I am on camping trips for about 100 days a year. I drive a caravan of the manufacturer Hobby, with a car which is towing it. One of the last rallies I was at was in Finland. T im Wassbe rg A graduat e of New York Universit y's Tisch School Of The Art s wit h degrees in Film/TV Product ion & Film Crit icism, Tim has writ t en for magazines such as Moviemaker, Moving Pict ures, Conde Nast Traveler UK and Casino Make Sure T o Che ck Out : Deut scher Camping Club (DCC), which is Germany's largest t rade associat ion for caravan, mot or caravan and t ent t ourist s. The club is divided int o 22 regional associat ions, around 190 local associat ions and 200 caravan and mot or caravan
Player. He enjoys t raveling and dist inct craft beers among ot her t hings. consult ant s in t he area of camping hiking, camping vehicles, t ent s.