A vacation on hold? After partial cancellations in July, summer remains unpredictable for summer camps. But don’t lose hope! Industry players remain optimistic. 2023 is already shaping up to be a more promising year than the previous ones.
The most awaited moment for little schoolchildren is finally here! The great summer holidays, they have been dreaming about for months. Two months is a very long time for parents who are not lucky enough to be on vacation. Indeed, those who are not are desperately looking for solutions to occupy their children. Qwhether it’s colonies or summer camps, these leisure solutions are a real bargain for children who do not go on holiday abroad, offering the possibility of creating precious summer memories.
However, Since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, the sector has faced serious challenges. The organizations responsible for the stays as well as the municipalities are struggling to recruit facilitators. Like many seasonal jobs, these small jobs are rare. According to David Cluzeau, general delegate of Hexopée, the employers’ union in the animation sector, approximately 30,000 positions would be vacant for the summer of 2023, i.e. approximately 10% of the workforce required. While the damage remains limited for the month of July, concerns remain for the month of August.
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Shortage of animators in summer camp: “There is no certainty that everything is open”
A few rare closures of summer camps were reported in July, but they remain marginal, according to the reassuring words of David Cluzeau, who has a good knowledge of the sector thanks to his exchanges with summer camp organizations and leisure centers. The organization Vacances Voyages Loisirs (VVL), which offers a wide range of stays ranging from kindergarten to seniors, confirms this observation. Out of a hundred stays planned for this summer, VVL only had to cancel a traveling trip planned for July, which was to accommodate around twenty teenagers on the magnificent Côte d’Azur.
“We are facing a lack of team and director”explains Emmanuel Frantz, Managing Director of Vacances Voyages Loisirs, in a recent statement on the Actu.fr website. In such cases, what are the possible remedies? The organization offers parents, informed well in advance of the cancellation of the stay, alternative solutions: camps organized on the same dates or in neighboring destinations. In short, industry professionals are scrambling to find solutions.