Simon Neal, CEO of international company CampMap, has found an innovative digital green camping solution that makes camping stress free, as per a press release.
Born in Scotland, Neal has been a fan of an active outdoor lifestyle since childhood. However, when he started camping with his family, he realized how much energy it took to find all the necessary information needed to book a perfect campsite.
“Organizing camping usually consists of good travel organization, lots of paperwork, research, information gathering, and camp communication; from whether there are free pitches for booking, what are these pitches and what they look like, is there enough shade, how close is the sea, to information on whether there is a doctor near the camp or recommendations of good restaurants, shopping options, and other similar activities,” Simon shared about his camping experiences all over Europe.
So, a project was created (and out of frustration, basically). He started developing interactive digital maps for camps with 360 photos with an idea that every pitch involves all the necessary data campers need to choose their perfect pitch. Now, guests no longer need to spend time researching information on different portals—CampMap has it all in one place. It is a simple solution for both guests and camp managers.
Simon started the project on his own at the beginning of 2020, and today the company employs over 14 people and cooperates with over 100 camps in several European countries with a growth of 800% in 12 months. CampMap is described as a mix between Google Maps, TripAdvisor, and Booking.com for campsites.
The families with kids, who often camp in a tent, spend a lot of time searching for the information they need when searching for a campsite and trying to organize a holiday, especially with small children. It is often difficult to get the exact number of the camping pitch they have booked, or to get information on whether there is shade on that camping spot and what size it is.
CampMap creates interactive maps of campsites, which are available on all devices, that greatly facilitates travel planning and majorly improves camping experience. Guests get all the information in one place; all the info that you would wish to know about the pitch (size, shade, if there is electricity or water etc.), the campground, and the local surroundings.
Last year, the start-up started collaborating with several camps in Croatia. Today, CampMap is working with multiple camps outside Croatia—in Slovenia, France, Austria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and soon in Spain.
“Some strong brands of the camping industry, such as Centro Vacanze Pra’ delle Torri, Mon Perin camping, or Camping Omišalj, have recognized the value of providing the interactive maps to their guests which we are proud of, and which gives us confidence that we are developing a valuable high-quality product,“ Neal said.
At partner camps, guests have the opportunity to use the CampMap interactive map on their website with active navigation on the campsite. When visiting the camps, guests can also get notifications about the events in the camp or warnings in the case of bad weather.
Take only memories, leave only footsteps
Paper trail” has been the main mission from the very beginning of the company’s development. Camp managers have been mentioning they were printing up to 18,000 maps a year for their campsite.
“Our common goal is to reach zero in a few years. We really want to be a green company,” Neal said. “We start from the fact that you do not need a pile of paper to get accurate information, and the very essence of camping starts from the assumption of ‘back to nature’ and we must be aware of what is left behind when we finish our vacation in nature.”
Replacing paper and going digital is the next step in the process of sustainable camping and the camps have the opportunity to offer their guests an upgrade in the service and a new digital solution to speed up the booking process.
First GPS navigation for campsites
CampMap’s goal is to simplify camping, for the guest, and for the owner and the staff of the campground.
The aim of interactive maps for camps is to gather all the data and to offer the guests information that will be available to them during the organization of travel, reservations, arrival at the camp, and during their stay in the camp.
Guests can see which pitches are free to book, can check the dimensions of the pitches and equipment and through 360° Photo, can check what each pitch looks like. During their stay, they can get information about the opening hours of the restaurant or check out the entertainment program of the camp.
CampMap has developed the first-ever GPS navigation for campsites and camping villages. Using the navigation, guests can easily navigate, on their own, through the camp and see the actual distances within the camp. The digital map just makes it easier to move around the camp.
To learn more about CampMap, visit https://campmap.com/.
Featured image from CampMap.