Company report Additional activities
'A mini campsite must suit you'
Zeeland has traditionally been a real agricultural province. However, since the construction of the Delta Works, tourism has also taken off. And it is not only the large holiday parks and hotel chains that are reaping the benefits. A mini campsite next to the farm is almost the rule rather than the exception on a number of islands. Boerenbusiness As part of the series on expanding agricultural businesses, he visited the mini-campsite of the Maljaars family in Biggekerke on Walcheren.
From a farm shop, nostalgic camping to farmers' golf, more and more agricultural entrepreneurs have additional activities, according to figures from the Agricultural Census. In this series we visit companies in different sectors, throughout the country and with various expansion activities. This series of reports is made in collaboration with platform Search farmer, which inspires citizens to visit the farmer.
It is a windy, changeable afternoon in early August when we drive into the yard of the Phlox mini campsite. There is a sign along the road, but otherwise nothing suggests that the area behind the farm is full of holidaymakers. "That is a requirement of the municipality," Johan Maljaars explains when we sit at the kitchen table a little later. He started the campsite with his wife Miranda in 2005. "The municipality of Veere, which Biggekerke falls under, is careful about the green and rural character of the rural area. Sometimes that is difficult, but in the end we all benefit from it. The rural appearance is what most tourists ultimately come for."
The Maljaars family has a small arable farm with a traditional cropping plan with sugar beets, winter wheat and barley, kidney beans and potatoes. "We have stopped using flowers for seed cultivation," says Johan. "The work and risk of that cultivation no longer outweighed the yields." Johan also has an outside job in road and hydraulic engineering. The daily affairs of the campsite are Miranda's domain. "I like running the campsite better than working for a boss." A campsite next to the farm must suit you, according to Miranda. "Getting along with people is important and we are flexible with a helping hand. If a guest finds out in the evening that they have forgotten the matches for the gas stove or the barbecue, they can get a box from me."
Starting a mini-campsite takes quite some effort. First of all, it must fit in with the municipality's zoning plan. "We were one of the last in the area to start a campsite in 2005," says Johan. "First with fifteen places and that was expanded to 2009 in 25."
The construction of camping pitches and facilities requires a significant investment. "I think the biggest investment was the sanitary building," says Johan. "I was able to take over part of the furnishings from another campsite. That building had coin-operated showers. The previous owner said that he had the coin-operated machines installed after he found out that half the family of campers were using them. came by for an afternoon, used the camping showers or that there were guests who showered for a very long time. Not something we planned, but afterwards I am happy with the coin machines."
Next to the sanitary building there is a second building that serves as a kind of communal space. "We have games, books and toys there," says Miranda. "That is also where a football match can be watched. We also sometimes have guests who, for example, celebrate their birthday there when it is raining." There is also a washing machine, freezer and refrigerator. There is also a separate shed where you can store bicycles, pedal tractors and the like. For (older) visitors who like to explore the area by bicycle, there is a storage facility on site with sockets for charging the electric bicycle.
No expense has been spared in the construction of the pitches. "We wanted to do it right the first time. For example, each pitch has its own power connection to the central distribution box. Installing the power in a loop would have been cheaper, but if the fuse blows in one place, the rest of the campsite has no That has saved a lot of annoyance, because it regularly happens that a guest's device causes a short circuit," says Johan. "Because we only started the campsite relatively late, the changed rules regarding the minimum size of pitches have not caused us any problems."
What has changed since the beginning is the parking for guests. "The cars used to be at the edge of the yard. That was visible from the road. Now we have created a separate parking lot further back with a hedge around it so that you no longer see the cars." The Maljaars family carried out much of the construction and groundwork themselves. "We have kept costs under control by doing a lot ourselves," says Johan.
Visitors to the campsite can be roughly divided into two categories. Or they are families with young children or older couples who come more for peace and quiet. "There is less to do here for older children from about the age of twelve," says Miranda. "They are more likely to opt for a larger campsite or holiday park. Since 2020 we also have two safari tents, a two-person tent and four four-person tents. "That was an experiment for us during corona. With the safari tents we also attract a slightly different audience. Young people do not easily come with a caravan, but they do book a safari tent."
Some of the guests book a seasonal pitch and stay at the campsite from April to September. But they also have people who are there for a few weeks or guests in transit who book a night. "It is changeable this week, but next week sunny weather is forecast. We notice this in the bookings. When the weather is good, people are more likely to stay in the Netherlands," says Miranda.
TV and internet are almost a prerequisite for many camping guests. Setting up the television in particular sometimes causes problems. "If things don't work out and the tension between the couple increases, we are often called in. Not our job, but you don't want the holiday to start with a fight between the campers. At times you are like a social worker," Miranda says. And the service doesn't stop there. Maljaars also arranges caravan storage in the winter for some regular customers. "Some older guests have a small car that the caravan cannot fit behind. The neighbor has a caravan shed and we ensure that the caravan goes there in the autumn and is taken out again in the spring," says Johan.
The work that the campsite entails is highly seasonal. "We can't leave during the high season," says Miranda. "The number of hours we spend on it per day varies. Ensuring that everything is clean and tidy comes up every day, but other than that it depends on whether new guests come, reservations come in, and so on. In the fall when If the weather is bad, we sometimes decide in consultation to shorten the season. Outside the camping season, it is mainly pruning work and maintenance where necessary."
This series of reports is made in collaboration with platform Search farmer, which inspires citizens to visit the farmer.
Jurphaas Lugtenburg
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