By Chris Littley
Caravan parks across the UK are not due to reopen to the public until July, but one national chain has outlined the measures it will use to ensure its visitors’ safety.
Haven owns 36 caravan sites across the country and is hoping to welcome back holidaymakers as soon as the government gives them the go ahead.
Caravan holidays will have to come in line with new social distancing and hygiene rules just like many other areas of recreation in the wake of COVID-19.
It’s expected that holiday parks will be allowed to welcome back guests from July 3rd, although further confirmation from Downing Street is anticipated.
Gerard Tempest, director of guest and proposition at Haven, told The Sun: “The experience has changed from when guests first arrive at the park.
“They will be given an allocated time for arrival, so that we can meet them at the gate and allow them to bypass reception – taking them straight to their caravan where they will be given their set of keys and a welcome pack.
“Getting around will change too – in the same way that you have one way aisles at the supermarket, we’ll have that on a much bigger scale in the park.”
Behind the scenes, things will be different too, with additional cleaning teams dressed in PPE targeting high-touch areas like door handles on a strict schedule.
Each caravan will be cleaned and sealed between stays, with visitors able to break the seal on their unit at the start of their holiday and told not to enter if it has already been broken.
These measures should help to provide peace of mind to people looking for a staycation in the UK this summer.
While it’s still unclear whether swimming pools, playgrounds, restaurants and entertainment venues will be able to open at Haven parks, guests will be able to order food via an app and have it delivered to their caravan.
Mr Tempest added: “We are seeing a lot of the kinds of people who have not really considered holiday parks in the past, those who had a misconception that they are still the same as when my grandparents had a caravan on the coast.
“That is not the case – they have moved on enormously and people will ask themselves why they hadn’t considered this before.”
