Sitting in an indoor play area combining slides, climbing structures and intense noise levels, Adrien, 45, sums up his vacation at Center Parcs Les Hauts-de-Bruyères, in Chaumont-sur-Tharonne (Loir-et-Cher) : “The kids are busy all day, and we don’t care if it rains. » This bank employee drove from Essonne with his friend and their children, aged 7 to 10, to settle in for a week in a “cottage”according to the term in force, “comfortable, but a little dated”. A nice budget: they paid 2,000 euros just for accommodation. Between the tropical swimming pool, the Accrobranche, the ” Mcdonalds “ and the games, the week at the Center Parcs in Sologne flows smoothly. “It’s very well thought out. Everything is done to ensure that we stay put”comments Adrien.
More than thirty years after the opening, in 1988, of the first Center Parcs in France, this concept, born in the Netherlands, halfway between the holiday village and the leisure park, continues to appeal. With its hundreds of identical houses scattered under the trees, its mini market, its swimming pool and its restaurants, the whole gives the visitor the strange feeling of plunging into a fictional setting, a “bubble” which would simulate an ideal city, where children circulate freely, in a reassuring and domesticated nature.
Inflation has not distracted its clientele, although they come from very diverse social categories: the number of nights sold in 2023 in Center Parcs (twenty-nine in number, including seven in France) increased by 7%, and turnover by 19%. “And the year 2024 looks very good”rejoices the general director of Center Parcs Europe, Olivier Garaïalde.
But, in these times of tension on purchasing power, vacationers are paying more attention. “The impact of inflation on our customers can be seen in on-site expenses, which are stable in value, but decreasing in volume”observes David Vincent, director of Center Parcs des Hauts-de-Bruyères, who also adds that the length of stays is tending to shorten: it is now 3.7 days.
And yet, the development of multiple paid activities on site (laser game, treasure hunt, workshop with bees, electric scooter, spa, tree climbing, etc.) is one of the key elements of the strategic plan deployed by Center Parcs since 2021. “We seem to be spending all the timeregrets Adrien. Almost all activities have a fee. A bowling alley? It’s 40 euros. Either you pay or you constantly say no to your children. »
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