La Story (Les Echos) Analysis: The Resurgence of Luxury Camping 'Glamping' as Seen in Slow Village

August 5, 2026

Overview

This episode of La Story, the daily podcast from the French economic newspaper Les Echos, is part of a special series tracking new ways to spend summer vacations. It features an interview with Baptiste Bonnichon, co-founder of a luxury campsite group. The host is Clara Grosis.

As symbolized by the word 'glamping' (a portmanteau of glamorous and camping) which was added to the French dictionary Larousse last year, camping in France is evolving into unique accommodations surrounded by nature, such as tiny houses, treehouses, and yurts. The number of overnight stays increased by 4.5% between 2024 and 2025, and according to INSEE (National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies), 60% of overnight stays in 2024 took place in 4-star and 5-star campsites, indicating a growing segment of travelers seeking comfort.

The interview discusses how Inspire Village, founded in 2021 and operator of the 'Slow Village' brand, has grown rapidly by riding the wave of slow tourism and defining itself not as a 'campsite' but as an 'outdoor hotel.' Given the difficulty of building new campsites in France, the company has adopted a strategy of acquiring and completely renovating existing facilities. By leveraging environmental certifications and hotel-level services, they aim to combine comfort with a return to nature.

Defining as an 'Outdoor Hotel' rather than a Campsite

The official name of the group led by Baptiste Bonnichon is Inspire Village, but the brand name Slow Village, used across all their facilities, is better known. He states that they do not define themselves as a 'campsite.'

According to him, the image many people have of a campsite is a noisy, club-like place lined with water slides and rows of white PVC mobile homes. Slow Village aimed for something different: a place that is slower, quieter, restful, and deeply rooted in nature. That is why they describe themselves using terms like 'village' or 'outdoor hotel' (hôtel de pleine nature).

The 'Return to Nature' Concept Born from the Pandemic

The group was launched in 2021, just after the COVID-19 pandemic, with co-founder David. The starting point was the realization that after the experience of being confined and deprived of freedom, many people recognized that reconnecting with nature, vast spaces, and with themselves and their families was a fundamental human need.

The company therefore proposed a path of environmentally conscious, responsible, and sustainable tourism. He emphasizes that now, having experienced repeated historic heatwaves, it is necessary to further strengthen efforts in this direction.

The first experimental site was a village in the Marais d'Oléron in the Charente-Maritime department. Located among oyster ponds and the 'Vélodyssée' cycling route, they provided accommodations with bedding, showers, and terrace quality comparable to 3-star and 4-star hotels. After acquiring and completely renovating it in 2022 and branding it in 2023, it reportedly gained rapid support from customers seeking comfort and the region's rich food and culture.

A Growth Strategy Only Possible Through Acquisition and Full Renovation

According to Bonnichon, it is impossible to build new campsites in France. There are 7,500 campsites in France, and 80% of them are still owned by individuals. Therefore, he says the only way to create facilities with a new concept is to acquire and transform existing ones.

The company's site selection criteria involve having strong tourist resources nearby that can be accessed on foot or by bicycle. The Marais d'Oléron was located in the middle of oyster ponds, 100 meters from the coast, and surrounded by the culture and heritage experiences of the Charente-Maritime department. In addition, a 'cocoon-like' environment wrapped in greenery is prioritized. He says that trees and nature cannot be created through investment, so whether they are already there is the deciding factor.

The Appeal of the Camping Market to Investors

In 2022, the insurance giant Swiss Life invested in Inspire Village. He explains that the camping market is highly profitable in a broad sense and is a market in the midst of transformation, with room for digitalization and new brand building. The structure where 80% is privately owned means future opportunities for asset turnover and external growth.

The French tourism market is one of the largest industries, accounting for about 9% of GDP, and the camping market is the second largest in the world after the United States and the largest in Europe. The market has been growing constantly since its inception and has the resilience to withstand crises in purchasing power and the COVID-19 pandemic. Campsites operate in the summer, and it was fortunate that lockdowns mainly occurred in the winter.

Acquisition of Competitor Slow Village and Brand Selection

In 2024, the company acquired its competitor, the Slow Village group, and kept that brand name. At the time of the acquisition, the company had 5 facilities and the Slow Village side had 6, making them roughly the same size, so the issue of which brand to keep was a point of discussion.

Normally, a company would use the buyer's brand, but they humbly questioned which brand was better known in the market and better represented their products and philosophy. Slow Village had a longer history than their own company (at the time, Slow Village was 7 years old, while they were 2 years old), and the rich imagery associated with the word 'slow' aligned with their project, so they chose this name.

However, at the time, Slow Village had a more 'roots' positioning. Therefore, they rebuilt the brand by combining the strengths of both: the hotel-like service aspect of Inspire Village and the environmental initiatives that Slow Village had built up through certifications like the EU Ecolabel.

Customer profile and mechanisms to embody 'slow'

The customers are mainly families with one to three children aged 0 to 12 or 13, with 40% being foreigners (from the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, the UK, etc.) and 60% being domestic French customers. They are primarily from a relatively high-purchasing-power demographic who live in cities and wish to immerse themselves in nature, slow down, and reconnect with their families. The average stay in July and August is long, ranging from 4 to 7 nights, while at the beginning and end of the season, stays are mostly 2 to 3 nights, centered around weekends.

The cost of a stay varies depending on the season and the facility. For a one-week stay for four people in a two-room premium cottage at Marais d'Oléron during the peak of August, the price is around 2,000 euros (approximately 363,300 yen, calculated at 1 euro = 181.65 yen).

As a mechanism to embody 'slow,' the company rebranded their kids' club as the 'Slow Club.' Inspired by Montessori principles, the content emphasizes reconnecting with nature and oneself, as well as crafting items using waste materials. Each facility has a 'Slow Farm' with sheep and goats, where children can learn about nature through caring for animals. The accommodations are built using plenty of wood, and all restaurants are operated in-house, sourcing 80% of their ingredients locally, inspired by 'Slow Food.'

A refuge for customers who have lost their place in existing campsites

According to him, some customers are people who have found they no longer belong in existing campsites. Those who once enjoyed camping but could not share values with the surrounding clientele, or who could not adapt to giant water parks and noise, have arrived at the company in search of a quieter and more comfortable place.

Strict environmental certification: The EU Ecolabel

Of the 11 villages currently in operation, 6 have obtained the EU Ecolabel. This certification requires the reduction of energy consumption, CO2 emissions, water usage, chemical product use, waste, and transport-related emissions.

He emphasizes that for the company, this is not a marketing tool, and they do not say, 'Please come because we have an Ecolabel.' It is a very strict certification consisting of 67 criteria, and plastic is not permitted in any process. For example, linens usually arrive wrapped in plastic, but since that cannot be used, operational ingenuity is required to protect them from dust and rain outdoors. Furthermore, he notes that it is important that they are forced to make continuous improvements, as they must improve their evaluation every time they renew it every two years.

Pool ingenuity to reduce water dependency

Environmental initiatives also extend to water usage. The facility in Biscarrosse is located 50 meters from a lake and does not have a pool. At the facility in the Gard department, in addition to being able to swim in the river, they have created a natural 'lagoon' without using any concrete, utilizing the terrain and laying down a waterproof membrane and sand, which is heated by solar heat without the use of chemicals.

For facilities that have historically had pools, they do not destroy them but instead devise ways to operate them. This year on the Île de Ré, they invested tens of thousands of euros to introduce heat pumps that are more environmentally friendly and consume less energy. He states that since the company's founding five years ago, he has believed it necessary to create a model for summer tourist destinations that has the least dependence on water.

Opening in Belle-Île and 100 million euros in funding

The company recently opened its 11th village on Belle-Île after overcoming the technical challenge of installing nearly 70 accommodations manufactured in France during a winter of continuous bad weather. It is an island with untouched nature that can only be reached by boat. They prioritize manufacturing the accommodations near facilities in places like Vendée, Brittany, and Véron.

Furthermore, the company has raised 100 million euros (approximately 18.165 billion yen, calculated at 1 euro = 181.65 yen) for new openings. They currently have 14 destinations and aim to double that to around 30 by 2030–2031. He says that while they plan to acquire 3 to 6 facilities per year, what is important is not the amount, but carefully selecting locations that match the brand's DNA and realizing sustainable tourism and local job creation.

Demand fluctuations caused by inflation, geopolitics, and heatwaves

Regarding this season, he analyzes that the number of customers hesitating to travel abroad due to geopolitical instability is increasing, which is actually a tailwind for domestic tourism in France. Regarding the decline in purchasing power, although it is less affected due to the luxury positioning, he is keeping a close eye on the possibility that spending on incidental services such as restaurants may be suppressed. Even so, he says that families tend to protect their vacation budgets.

Regarding heatwaves, he points out that booking trends change depending on the region. Residents in areas where temperatures reach 35 or 40 degrees Celsius are often too exhausted by the heat to make plans, leading to an increase in last-minute bookings. Also, because cooler places are preferred when it is hot, instability arises where bookings in the south decrease and Brittany grows, and this reverses when it cools down.

Even more serious are the wildfires across France. As a company that makes long-term, asset-based investments, it is forced to consider climate risk when choosing new locations, and as a result, it has come to favor northern and northwestern France. He says that if the opportunity arises, he would like to open a village in Normandy. His concluding remark was that true luxury is taking the time to return to oneself and one's true desires, and resting by doing nothing.

▶ Previous entry in this series: La Story (Les Echos) Commentary: Reading Camp The Bookmates—The Solo Participation Boom Born from Social Media https://note.com/yondo/n/n3999b7047176

▶ Read articles on this theme together: Magazine 'Overseas Business Programs You Can't Read in Japanese' https://note.com/yondo/m/mefd2fd5a305c

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