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ADAC, ANWB and TCS join forces in Camping

The three largest mobility clubs in Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland are joining forces to expand their digital camping activities. From January 2024, the ANWB and the TCS will participate as shareholders in the new entity PiNCAMP GmbH, former ADAC Camping GmbH. As part of the transaction, the three shareholders are investing 6,6 million Euro in the further internationalisation of PiNCAMP. In May 2024, the existing camping portal technology of anwbcamping.nl will be replaced by the portal technology of PiNCAMP, the domain anwbcamping.nl will remain. The three automobile clubs from Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland unite a total of 27 million members.

– Berlin, The Hague, Geneva, November 7, 2023

Timeline of changes

The ADAC SE (hereafter: ADAC), the ANWB BV (hereafter ANWB) and the Touring Club Switzerland (hereafter TCS) merge their existing camping activities into a joint company.

January 1, 2024, the former ADAC Camping GmbH is renamed to PiNCAMP GmbH. In addition to ADAC,  ANWB and TCS also become additional shareholders of PiNCAMP GmbH.

The shareholders invest a further 6.6 million funding in PiNCAMP GmbH to ensure the merger and further growth in other European markets. The team expands with colleagues from ANWB Camping.

In Q2 2024, the existing camping portal of ANWB Camping gets replaced by the portal technology of PiNCAMP. From that change on, a similar camping portal will be used in the Netherlands (www.anwbcamping.nl | ANWB Camping powered by PiNCAMP), in Germany (www.pincamp.de | PiNCAMP powered by ADAC) and in Switzerland (www.pincamp.ch | PiNCAMP powered by TCS). Further european country versions will follow.

Strategic reasoning behind the merger

The consolidation of the camping industry is strongly accelerating with every passing year. Large international companies, backed with billions of EUR of private equity and venture capital, are trying to gain dominant positions in our industry. Individual local or national companies will soon find it increasingly difficult to survive in this intensifying competition.

ADAC, ANWB and TCS have been active in the camping industry for decades. They recognized the importance of camping early on and have supported the growth of the branche from the very beginning. The clubs act in partnership, reliably and at eye level with the campsite entrepreneurs over decades. And due to their structure, ADAC, ANWB and TCS with their activities will not be for sale in the future, no matter who offers how much venture capital.

If ADAC, ANWB and TCS want to continue to support the industry with full force in the future, nationally limited activities are no longer sufficiently competitive. In order to be survivable in the age of the platform economy, greater investments and an internationalisation of activities are necessary.

That’s why ADAC, ANWB and TCS have jointly decided to build a counter-model to the global players equipped with venture capital and geared towards market domination.

By combining the camping activities of ADAC, ANWB and TCS and investing a further EUR 6.6 million in the development of a jointly operated camping booking portal, we the clubs are sending an unmistakable signal to the industry: “We are creating a long-term basis to continue our close, historically grown partnership with campsite entrepreneurs in the digital world. We will continue to support the growth of camping for the next seventy years. Fairly, in partnership, reliably, at eye level.”

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“The camping industry is increasingly being transformed by venture capital, acquisitions and global hotel booking platforms. With our joint commitment, we are taking a different approach: As ADAC SE, we founded the camping portal in 2018 and have had an international focus from the start. As the second largest automobile club in the world, we are now involving our partners ANWB and TCS to be able to grow sustainably and lead the company into a stable future.”

Mahbod Asgari
Member of the Executive Board of ADAC SE

“ADAC, ANWB and TCS have always been not only reliable partners of the camping industry, but also companions and developers of camping. We will also develop the future market of the internet together with the camping industry, not against it. The digitalisation of the camping industry is a great opportunity, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. We can only take this big step together.”

Uwe Frers
Managing Director PiNCAMP GmbH

“Together with the camping industry, we are creating one of the leading booking platform for campsites in Europe and will thus sustainably promote the development of camping.”

Jürg Wittwer
General Director of the Touring Club Switzerland

“With 25 campsites of our own, we are already the market leader in the operation of campsites in Switzerland. With our participation in the new PiNCAMP GmbH, we want to further expand our strong position.”

Oliver Grützner
Head of Tourism & Leisure at Touring Club Switzerland

“The camping market has become an international market. ADAC, ANWB and TCS have been trusted partners of the camping industry and campers for decades and now bring their knowledge and experience together in PiNCAMP. Campers and campsites benefit from this collaboration. Campsites are expanding their reach in key markets. At the same time Dutch, Swiss and German campers benefit from a wider offer to choose from for their camping holidays. With this we are laying a powerful new foundation for growth in collaboration with all our camping partners.”

Jaap van der Linden
Business Owner Camping at the ANWB

What are the advantages for campsites of merging the camping activities of ADAC, ANWB and TCS?

Business:

  • More demand: German, Dutch and Swiss campers spend over 130 million nights on campsites every year. By merging the three countries, the new PiNCAMP GmbH provides campsites with approximately 30% of the demand of the entire European camping market from one single source.
  • Less efforts and costs: This simplification facilitates processes and reduces administrative costs for campsites.
  • Higher occupancy: Due to the different holiday periods in the three countries, the new PiNCAMP GmbH also ensures a more even occupancy of the campsites, especially in the low season.

Strategy:

  • Trust: Camping has played an important role for the three automobile clubs for over 70 years. Over time, trusting and long-term relationships have been established between the automobile clubs and the camping industry. With the joint entity PiNCAMP GmbH the automobile clubs are creating a long-term basis to continue this close, historically grown partnership in the digital world.
  • Common interests: ADAC, ANWB and TCS have always been not only reliable partners of the camping industry, but also companions and developers of camping. We will also develop the future market of the internet together with the camping industry, not against it. The digitalisation of the camping industry gives small and medium-sized businesses in particular a great opportunity. We can only take this big step together. In close cooperation with the camping industry, we want to create a platform that can hold its own in competition due to its size and sustainably promote the development of camping in Europe.
  • We combine traditional camping and luxury glamping: Camping has always been a form of holiday where people of all different backgrounds have met to spend the best time of the year together. This openness is the basis of everything we do at PiNCAMP. We offer camping for everyone, open and diverse. We are the trusted partner for the old hands of camping. Additionally we also open up camping to new campers with a modern and attractive offer. With us there is room for everyone, we connect worlds: Big, small, glamping, nature, ecology and economy. 

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