Outdoor accommodation industry: The Autorité clears the acquisition of the Vacanceselect Group by the ECG Group, subject to conditions

The Autorité de la concurrence clears the acquisition by the ECG Group, which is active in the outdoor accommodation sector, of the Vacanceselect Group, owner of the Vacanceselect and Tohapi brands.

For the first time, the Autorité had the opportunity to examine two new relevant markets: first, a market for the activity of tour operator, which consists of a campsite making some of its pitches available to a third party campsite (known as a “tour operator”) so that this third-party operator can operate them on its own behalf; and second, a market for online travel agency services specialising in camping offers.

The Autorité’s analysis led it to identify risks of harm to competition on the markets for the operation of camping pitches at the local level. To prevent these risks, ECG committed to divest a campsite in the Les Prés du Verdon area (in the Alpes de Haute-Provence department) and to enter into a contract with a third-party campsite to operate 27 high-end serviced pitches in the La Croix du Vieux Pont (Aisne).