Project overview

Therefore, the general European movement towards the green economy contributes to camping resorts becoming one of the most desired tourist accommodation types nowadays and even more so in the future. Campsites are becoming the facilities with the weakest influence on the environment. Research shows that the millennial and Y generations have a preference for outdoor activities and the camping industry is considered to be one of the top 20 growth industries in the next 10 years (CB Insight, 2019). The green future demands adapted educational curricula in Europe that will enable future leaders in tourism to be not only employable but sensitized about how the green challenges of the future affect their profession.

Despite the great number of camps and industry significance for the overall economy, there is not yet any formal education in the camping management sphere in Europe on the level of undergraduate or graduate studies. Although many of the skills are transferable from other HE areas, specifically tourism and hospitality management, this is a lost opportunity because the set of green challenges facing the camping industry when compared to the hotel industry is unique and therefore requires a specific focus. Most of the campsites in Europe are owned by families and the perception is that they no longer have the capacities or knowledge to deal with the changes in the demanding European market. The sector is hardly dealing with the challenges of the climate change and with more sophisticated demands of the camping clients regarding sustainability and the achievement of harmony with the nature (Eckl, 2020).

All these make evident the need for specifically trained human resources that will be able to deal with the challenges of sustainable camping resorts development. With the specific skills set in place, they should contribute to the overall greening of Europe through sustainable camping management practices and manage new innovative and sustainable forms of accommodation in the nature.

The above were all motives for the project team to consider how universities and industry professionals could work together to develop the know-how on sustainable practices in

camping management and make it accessible to students as well as researchers and the wider camping industry professionals. The solution is a transnational joint Master study programme in Sustainable camping resort  management to be devised by and delivered across three countries at three HEIs with expertise in one or more relevant areas of tourism management. The CAMPMASTER project will prepare the ground for the roll out of this first joint Master programme of its kind. The target groups in this project are students and university teaching staff who will participate in the preparation and also future implementation of the joint Master programme.

Through the dissemination of the project results, especially the Learning platform, entrepreneurs and managers in the wider camping industry will benefit from better research, resources and know-how on sustainability in camping management.