DESIGNERS OF A NEW AGE OF TOURISM

At the first traffic circle with signs for Bibione and Jesolo, childhood memories come flooding back to my travel companion and photographer. More than 40 years ago, as a child, he went camping with his family on the upper Adriatic. Only now, the sea doesn’t want to show itself. Or can no longer, now that the horizon is shielded by a bulwark of vacation resorts. Along the coastal strip near Venice, nature is a single business model. Between the agricultural fields of the Po Basin and the sandy beach, accommodations, huge water fun parks, and other amusement centers are concentrated over a few kilometers. In summer, the population of Cavallino-Treporti alone, the peninsula off Venice, swells from 15,000 to almost 80,000 people. The northernmost tip of the Mediterranean is particularly popular with Germans due to its proximity, which is why the beaches here are also jokingly referred to as the Teutonic Grill.

 

Venice and the surrounding area are the epitome of mass tourism. And it is precisely here that a campsite is setting out to break away from the conventional concept of tourism. We are on our way to Camping Ca’ Savio, a green oasis surrounded by the largest campsites in Europe. Instead of setting up even more mobile homes, the family business has decided to give nature more space again. And that’s not all: they are countering the maximum concentration of supply and demand with a vision that turns tourists back into guests, and in which tourism becomes a weaving loom for a more conscious and healing connection between people, nature, and culture. How can this succeed? We interviewed founder Maurizio Vianello (73) and his daughters Nicoletta (44) and Isabella Vianello (41) on a quiet February day in their office at the campsite.

Last year, the German Minister of Health caused a stir in Italy when he questioned the country’s future as a vacation destination in light of the spectacular heatwave. As one of the largest campsite operators on the Venetian Adriatic coast, what do such debates trigger in you?

 

M
P

What can you say against that? We can feel that temperatures are rising. The climate is changing. And here in Italy, we are strongly affected by this. As a campsite, we will respond to this as best we can, for example, by extending the season in the future and thus creating new offers. Cultural and nature--based experiences will complement the classic beach resort vacation. We invite our guests to immerse themselves in the region around the lagoon. We want to create new seasons for this. That is our approach. However, we depend on external conditions, such as school vacations, partners, the entire tourism value chain, and regulatory frameworks. These changes take time.

 

N
B

Irrespective of climate change, flattening the peak season would be fundamentally good for us as a company, our employees, the entire region, and our guests. People who are not tied to school vacations, especially the seasonal peaks of the Whitsun and summer vacations, can avoid traffic jams and heat. The region offers so much more than just beaches. You can explore a lot by bike in the off-season, for example. We just have to create the offers. That would also benefit our many employees, who we can currently -only employ from April to October. The infrastructure outside the site would also benefit, such as restaurants or tour providers. We are convinced that Italy will remain a top destination. But we have to adapt, especially mentally. That applies to everyone involved.

 

I
V

The vacation model of the Cavallino-Treporti region is based on the concept of seaside tourism. Everything started from there, and its continuous development moved from there, as did the wish to offer a constantly rising quality of hospitality. It worked very well for more than 60 years, and even if it still seems to work, we must broaden our view and think of the long term; we must do more. -Taking care of the quality of customers and infrastructure is not enough. We do not have all the answers, but we are trying to see and consider the system of which we are a part and to embrace, not escape, its complexity.

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However, the tourism providers in the neighborhood seem to see it differently. On the way here, we drove past countless construction cranes that dominate the Jesolo skyline. Water and fun parks with huge parking lots line the way. What do the neighboring campsite operators say about your visions?

 

M
P

Awareness of sustainability is growing in Italy. And so other campsites, all our partners, are gradually trying to find a way to approach sustainability. Each at their own pace. And, of course, the level of know-ledge is also different. However, we are convinced that true sustain-ability will only be achieved by rethinking and changing business models. Instead of making more money in a shorter season, we should find ways to spread tourism more evenly throughout the year. 

 

I
V

An essential part of our pathway consists of questions: What does sustainable, or even regenerative development mean for us as a campsite? How can we positively impact an entire region with our visions and solutions? How can we win over our partners and service providers, and the local community to our ideas? What forms of communication and activities can we use to reach our guests? How can we enrich the experience they take home at the end of their vacation? Questions like these guide us, and we want to develop together with our guests in the future.

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Sustainability seems to have played a significant role at Ca’ Savio for some time. Where does this mentality come from?

 

N
B

From the family. Our family’s sensitivity towards the natural aspects of camping mirrors how the campsite is designed. Nature has always been a partner in this area. And that’s what sets Camping Ca’ Savio apart from other campsites. There is a growing awareness of sustainability, but that was already present at Ca’ Savio when it was founded 50 years ago. Awareness of nature has always been in our family business, and is now translating back into a scientific understanding of sustainability. Things need to be changed in a more regenerative way.

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“Regeneration” is a term that you have used several times now, and it’s also cropping up more and more in the industry when it comes to creating a future worth living in with the help of tourism. What does regeneration mean to you?

 

N
B

Even before we encountered these terms, we decided on one thing for ourselves that I believe is at the heart of regenerative tourism: we need to examine our actions, change our perspective, zoom out of everyday life to see the big picture.

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And that is?

 

I
V

For the vacation experience, we design a process that begins long before our guests arrive. Our campsite includes far more than accommodation. For example, we also have a supermarket and a restaurant here, many services bundled together in one space. Overall, tourism offers interfaces to many other industries, especially to smaller businesses and suppliers in the region. We are aware of this responsibility.

 

N
B

We are part of this region, this specific cultural, social, and ecological community. We believe that we need to interact with the community to create relationships with the people; our relationships are the basis for everything. This is not always easy, but in the end, it is also about the common good.

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How do your actions affect the common good of the local community?

 

N
B

We have already mentioned the effects of a more extended season on our employees’ employment period and the traffic volume. However, we are also primarily concerned with interactions between our guests and the local population that create real economic and cultural added value. This works best in the low season when fewer people are on the move. Another important point about our team is that the longer the season lasts, the lower the fluctuation, leading to a valuable build-up of knowledge. Cooperation with schools would also be conceivable. We could take on trainees.

 

I
V

We can also respond better to our guests if they come throughout the year. In the high season, up to 5,000 people stay at our campsite at any one time. This makes it difficult to establish personal contact, yet that is extremely important to us. That is the core of our self-image as Ca’ Savio and as a family. We want our guests to feel at home with us. And that clearly sets us apart from other campsites.

 

M

P

You could also say that we are the campsite. We stay in one of the bungalows from June to the end of August. We feel the hustle and bustle and pressure on our team when thousands of guests are on the site simultaneously. My daughters have grown up here. We see ourselves more as stewards of this plot of land, caretakers than owners of the campsite and all its people.

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