Company Profile

The focal point of our activities has always been our customers, recognising them as our greatest asset; over the years, it has been our guests who have defined what would be the new trends and innovations in the sector. Our mission, therefore, has been to listen to them and to create with them our philosophy, the one that over the years has led us to the Glamping concept.

‘Glamping is the future of camping.’ (Loek van de Loo)

Glamping is a neologism created by combining the words GLAMOUR and CAMPING. This concept describes a style of camping based on the amenities and services derived from high-end resorts, which are difficult to find on classic campsites. Glamping has become popular with tourists seeking the luxury typical of hotel facilities, but associating it with direct contact with nature and activities closer to camping life. When experiencing Glamping, there are no tents to pitch, no sleeping bags to unroll, and no long walks to reach the facilities. Whichever type of facility you stay in, in fact, you always have the possibility of living in the open air and in contact with nature, without sacrificing luxury.
Until a few years ago, the word Glamping did not even exist. This term, in fact, was only officially invented in 2006. Since then, numerous facilities around the world have been developing this philosophy, taking inspiration from the safari resort camps in Africa and North America, also generating a lot of curiosity on online search engines.

Eike Wenzel, head of the Institute for Trend and Future Research (ITZ) in Heidelberg, has been studying the development of Glamping for years and has come to the conclusion that there are more and more people oriented towards an unusual, special and, of course, luxury holiday. His studies point to young families as a very important target group, so much so that parents between the ages of 35 and 50 often prefer a lifestyle centred on health and sustainability; they also tend to favour experiences in the countryside, focusing on simplicity and nature, but without sacrificing luxury. ‘The idea of freedom and adventure, closeness to nature, in combination with luxurious camping offers will prevail,’ says Wenzel: ‘Glamping is the tourism trend of 2020’. His assessments are based on data provided by the company Vacanceselect, as reported in his research. In 2014, in cooperation with the Hamburg office of the aforementioned company, he noted a 300 % increase in the number of Glamping overnight stays that Germans booked with Vacanceselect, reaching 80,000 presences. Professor Wenzel argues that Italy, France, Spain and Croatia are the most popular European countries for luxury camping, benefiting from the natural and atmospheric advantage of their milder, temperate climate.

In order to pursue our Glamping philosophy, we could summarise all the improvements and innovations we would like to make as follows: the development of a campsite that is as car-free as possible, with the creation of a parking area separate from the pitches, so as to guarantee more safety for pedestrians and children, but also greater tranquillity; the design of new areas, which can be defined as small villages, with accommodation that can provide the best possible services, similar to those of a luxury resort; ample space for each individual customer, even in the face of a possible decrease in the number of accommodations, in order to favour privacy and tranquillity; the enhancement of all those services that can make the stay more pleasant, such as, for example, housekeeping, room service, laundry and the development of recreational areas equipped for children.
 

THE GROUP'S HISTORICAL FACILITIES
 

The campsites
 

Il Gabbiano Park Residence
 

On 7 July 2024, we opened the Trasimeno Glamping Resort, the ninth structure of our consolidated family business. The 5-star Glamping Resort stretches along the shores of Lake Trasimeno and is located in Sant'Arcangelo di Magione, in the province of Perugia, a land on the border between Umbria and Tuscany that has always fascinated the van de Loo/Scalvini family. The structure, which can accommodate over 1000 guests, covers an area of about 6 hectares and offers an original and modern glamping experience. The Trasimeno Glamping Resort offers various types of accommodation, including mobile homes, lodge and safari tents, pitches, as well as exclusive accommodation of the Glamping Collection. Our proposal also includes many high-level services such as animation, swimming pool, restaurant, market, sports fields, gym and two equipped beaches. The Glamping Resort is the ideal destination for couples who want to explore the wonders of central Italy, but also for families, as it has ample car-free green spaces where children can play in complete safety.
 

The restaurants are certainly one of the priority aspects for Vacanze col cuore; it is enough to consider the international nature of our guests, but also the high expectations of all those who, during a stay in Italy, expect to taste the best cuisine of the Bel Paese. For this reason, we decided to entrust the catering to a solid partner with great experience in managing food & beverage at open-air and non-open-air resorts. The choice fell on Top Class srl, which, under the guidance of Alessandro Castagnini, has been able to satisfy this need. Alessandro has spent many years managing restaurants, bars and markets in the most renowned Italian campsites and resorts, and has always done so by transmitting his skills to satisfy the transversal requests coming from a clientele that, over the years, has changed a lot; the leader of Top Class, moreover, has gone to embrace the Glamping philosophy, evolving the concept of catering for traditional campsites into a more modern and high-level service. The international team of Top Class, always believing in the guiding concepts of Vacanze col cuore, is made up of willing young people capable of facing the inevitable challenges that are going through this phase of company growth. The care taken in choosing suppliers and raw materials, but also the ability to mix collaborators from different parts of the world, has definitely rewarded Top Class, allowing it to create a team of 160 people who have managed to reach a turnover of 5 million euros.
 

Although based on the great experience of Loek and the van de Loo/Scalvini family, but also on resorts with over 30 years of activity, Vacanze col cuore is to be considered a startup. In 2018, in addition to the establishment of the Management team, the acquisition of 3 new resorts was accompanied by the opening of the new central office. The goal is to create a centralized know-how capable of increasing the size of the group, also through acquisitions and partnerships. All this, without forgetting our main strengths: