In 2025, Yelloh! Village marked its 25th anniversary, a milestone that reflects both the maturation of the European camping sector and the company’s long-term focus on premium outdoor hospitality.
In an interview with Modern Campground, Ward Wijngaert, international business developer for Yelloh! Village, discussed how the brand has evolved, where it is investing, and what campsite operators should be paying attention to as guest expectations continue to shift.
“We are a premium campsite franchise based in France and active in three European countries, such as France, Portugal, and Spain,” Wijngaert said. “We commercialize high-performing and quality campsites.”
He emphasized that Yelloh! Village operates exclusively as a franchise of independently and family-owned parks, a structure he believes sets the brand apart. “The campsites we represent […] are always independently owned and only family-owned businesses,” Wijngaert said, adding that this model preserves local character while aligning properties under a shared commercial strategy.
France as a Market Anchor
France remains central to the brand’s identity.
“In France, where we are based, we are the third biggest brand,” he said. “France is the biggest camping market destination. The industry is the oldest camping industry in Europe, and also the most experienced industry.”
Reflecting on the company’s growth since its founding around the year 2000, Wijngaert pointed to early adoption of digital tools as a defining move.
“The biggest shift has been the jump directly into online marketing,” he said.
How AI Is Being Used Today
While declining to disclose all future plans tied to the company’s 2025–2030 strategic roadmap, Wijngaert outlined how AI is already being applied across the network.
“We already use artificial intelligence, for example, to manage our satisfaction inquiry responses,” he said. “We also use them to analyze our weaknesses and [strengths] on e-reputation.”
These insights are compiled into consultancy reports shared with campsite owners. “With these analyses, we build consultancy reports for our owners so they can adapt their campsite on a weekly basis,” he said, particularly during high season when manual review of guest feedback becomes impractical.
At the same time, Yelloh! Village is deliberately limiting automation in guest-facing interactions. “We definitely don’t want to get into the robot answering [calls] and chats,” Wijngaert said. “We really think that offering an outdoor experience must be something personal and must be something personalized.”
Evolving Guest Expectations and Premiumization
According to Wijngaert, the definition of a premium campsite has expanded significantly. “A campsite with a beach is not enough,” he said. “We consider that there should be swimming pools and slides.”
Space, privacy, and greenery have also become central expectations. “We offer much more garden, much more greenery for customers who are used to [living] in city apartments,” he said, describing how layouts are increasingly designed to provide separation between accommodations.
“So, if they want to escape and they want to get into the [outdoors], of course, they want to find the luxury and the quality services in the accommodation.”
Unlike standardized franchises, Yelloh! Village emphasizes diversity within a consistent quality framework. “We don’t standardize our campsites… we just standardize our quality,” Wijngaert said, allowing guests to experience different destinations while maintaining predictable service levels.
The rise of non-traditional camping guests has further influenced development decisions. “Thanks to the pandemic, we have a lot of non-camping-minded customers now […] hotel customers who are trying to explore our industry thanks to the premium products we offer,” he said.
To retain them, Yelloh! Village has introduced services more commonly associated with hotels, including wellness offerings, cleaning services, and on-pitch or in-accommodation food delivery.
International Versus Domestic Demand
International travelers, particularly from Northern Europe, continue to shape standards across the network. “Since the beginning, we always thought about the quality, looking to the Germans, the Dutch customers, the Belgians, the Swiss, the Austrian customers,” Wijngaert said, noting that these markets tend to be highly demanding in terms of facilities and service.
While domestic guests in southern markets have historically had different expectations, Wijngaert said this gap is narrowing. “Little by little, our domestic markets are also seeing the difference and the advantages of [the] price-quality relation in Yelloh! Village,” he said, particularly outside peak summer periods.
Expansion Criteria and Sustainability Approach
When evaluating new destinations, Yelloh! Village prioritizes southern European locations with strong appeal to sun-seeking travelers. At the same time, the company’s franchise model limits direct involvement in day-to-day operations, including sustainability initiatives.
“We don’t get too much into the operational part… we want to preserve the [independence] of all Yelloh! Village campsites,” Wijngaert said.
Sustainability investments remain the choice of individual owners, but the brand facilitates knowledge-sharing. “During our two annual seminaries, we organize workshops… and we have always, every year, one focused on sustainability.”
Advice for Operators
Looking ahead, Wijngaert offered a clear message for campground and RV park owners across Europe and beyond.
“We shouldn’t forget the pitches,” he said, pointing to rising RV and caravan ownership and an aging population with greater flexibility to travel outside school holidays.
Premium pitches, particularly those with private sanitary facilities, represent a lower-cost investment with strong revenue potential. “There are no costs. There’s no cleaning to do. And if you put premium services as private sanitaries on your pitch, you can have a very nice revenue for [your] pitches,” he said.
Yelloh! Village is already adjusting its own development mix accordingly.
“We are now lowering it to a 50/50 balance of pitches and accommodations,” Wijngaert said, concluding that “the future is positive for pitch-minded campsites.”