InvestigationRoad trips in vans and converted vans allow contact with nature, a day-to-day life, a return to basics… And, above all, to be able to travel despite the restrictions.
It is a travel memory that illuminated the first days of their deconfinement. By consulting the weather forecast on a Friday evening of last spring, from their living room in the Lyon suburbs, Emilie Rigaud and Vianney Merinville note that the weather is favorable. They immediately climb into their van, looking for the best alpine spot to spend the weekend. “We parked on the mountainside, at the end of a dirt road. We were surrounded by cows, rocks and mountain flowers, with, from our bed, a breathtaking view of the pastures and the Chartreuse massif. In the distance, we could even see a little snow on the peaks… ”
Like this couple in their thirties, more and more of them are going on vacation in spacious vehicles fitted out for traveling vacations. Everyone confesses it: the trip – the overnight getaway like a long-distance road trip – counts more than the destination because the adventure begins as soon as the door is slammed. And to narrate their wanderings on Auvergne country lanes, in the middle of the green hills of the Scottish highlands, along the Australian desert coast …
“Over the past ten years, our relationship with nature has evolved a lot: formerly associated with sports activities, nature now enjoys a much larger audience, first for its ecological resonance but also because a sunset touches urban people as much as a painting in a museum. The van has become a central element of this new way of life ”, says Andrea Servert, editor at Gestalten, who has published several photo books on van vogue.
The catalytic effect of confinement
If this phenomenon had been germinating for several years, confinement acted as a catalyst for new followers of nomadic travel. “To respect social distancing and health security, the van is an ideal means of transport. And then this mobile space allows you to keep control over the pace of travel. With him, we can discover the interstices of the territories ”, analysis Rodolphe Christin, sociologist and author of Anti-tourism handbook (Écosociété, 2008).
“While mass tourism and the plane are the subject of criticism, nomadic travel constitutes a socially rewarding experience. »Rodolphe Christin, sociologist
The rental market figures speak for themselves: “Requests jumped 174% between 2019 and 2020, rallying many neophytes who had never traveled by van before”, explains Fabien Caujolle, marketing manager of Indie Campers, which offers rental packages from 157 euros for a weekend or 413 euros per week. After the 1,200 vehicles borrowed in 2020, the specialized rental company is targeting 1,800 units this year.
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