Outdoor adventure companies buying up BC campsites for foreign tourists

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – As camping season kicks into high gear, many local nature enthusiasts may be left in the lurch for a place to pitch their tent as outdoor adventure companies buy up and resell sites in a controversial effort to appeal to foreign tourists.

Companies like Salmon Arm-based Canadian Camping Adventures (CCA) reserve provincial taxpayer-funded campsites and resell them as part of tour packages for a markup that’s sometimes double the price per night.

CCA co-owner Michael Van Der Kraats said his company appeals mainly to tourists from Belgium — but also those from Germany, the Netherlands, and United States. He doesn’t think his company has a booking advantage, as his employees still have to reserve the spots on the public government website.

“We just have to be on the computer and book as fast as we can, just like everyone else,” Van Der Kraats tells us.

Provincial campsites cost between $18 and $35 a night, but CCA resells them for around $70.

Van Der Kraats says after they book the sites, they work with local RV companies to book multi-day and multi-week vacation packages that also include activities. He adds the prices are higher to pay for the company’s time and efforts to put the packages together.

He tells NEWS 1130 it is “ridiculous” to think his company is stealing campsites from locals.

“The market we’re focusing on is the Dutch market,” says Van Der Kraats. “They travel from early May to mid October, and they’re not just here for certain weekends that everyone wants to be on the campgrounds.”

However, NDP Environment Critic George Heyman says this is the privitization of provincial campgrounds and is “unacceptable.”

“This is not what BC parks were created for. They belong to British Columbians, they should be made available to British Columbians, and the BC government needs to take clear action to stop this scalping of BC campsites.”

Heyman argues the people who book the sites should be the ones who use them and the government should demand that identification or the credit card used to book the space be shown as proof of purchase.

“There are private campsites that private companies could use. BC parks should be for British Columbians,” he says, adding he does not wish to discourage foreign tourism.

NEWS 1130 has reached out to the provincial government for comment and is awaiting a response.

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