Park Resorts offer caravan park holidays in 41 locations across the UK, with sites on the Island at Thorness Bay, Nodes Point, Lower Hyde and Landguard. They offer ‘tenting and touring’ with camping, caravan and chalet accommodation. These four sites are an essential part of the Park Resorts portfolio.
“The Island is huge for us,” says Marketing Manager Laura Miller. “23% of our total revenue comes from our four Isle of Wight parks. I think it’s the location of the parks and the many local attractions on offer at an affordable price.”
The figures are good too, with holiday bookings up 2% year, with a 4% growth in peak school holidays. Tenting and touring bookings are also up 2% year on year with a 19% growth in the peak school holidays.
“We’re seeing a better year for the Island and bookings are very strong. Our customer’s expectations are probably the same as if they go to Kent or Sussex. They’re driven by what they can do in the local area and the cost involved. Last year was a good year in terms of our static caravans. Touring we found a bit more challenging, despite the weather.”
The parks are aimed at all ages, with family bookings making up around 70% of the total income. Holidaymakers generally come from within a three hour drive-time to Portsmouth, and the majority from within an hour of a ferry port. It isn’t just traditional holidays either. Events are good for business too. “During the festivals the parks fill up so that’s great for us,” says Laura.
“I think for the customer the ferry is part of the attraction and a part of their holiday. For a business it can be restrictive in terms of times. We are the largest operator on the Island and sometimes we do find it difficult when we have availability but the ferry crossings aren’t available. That’s quite tough and we have to find ways of getting customers across.”
Around 55% of their bookings are made on-line and Laura says that digital is a “huge part” of the Park Resorts strategy.
“We encourage and support TripAdvisor and if the reviews are bad we’d rather have the feedback and work to make it better. We talk about family holidays and outdoor adventure but actually technology is very important now. Our tents and tourers are telling us they want to be able to use their phones, they want wi-fi and they want the kids to be able to use their iPad.”
First published in the June 2014 issue of Island Business magazine.
