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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/news/gap-in-the-market-inspires-new-camping-website-30189263.html

A new software product from a Belfast company aims to double the number of campers and caravanners opting to holiday in Northern Ireland.

The makers of GoCampingNI.com say they hope it could become as essential on a trip to the countryside as tents, pegs, pots and pans and will create three new full and part-time programming jobs in Belfast.

The real-time, secure online booking system allows customers to browse multiple sites and dates, linking directly with the campsite owner’s reservation system to book sites.

The business is a spin-off from the CampManager product – launched with support from Invest NI in 2010 – a park management and online booking system with hundreds of sites and clients across the UK, Ireland and Europe. Founder Andrew Norris (27) said he uncovered a gap in the marketplace for a professional camping, vacation planning and booking system while inter-railing several years ago on a year out from Queen’s.

“I discovered that the camping and caravanning industry as a whole operated with historic paper-based booking systems which meant double bookings were rife,” he said.

“As a result of this chance discovery CampManager was born.

“Our new venture, GoCampingNI.com, utilises the CampManager platform and for the first time offers a simple, safe, 100% real-time secure booking system for sites in NI.”

http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1853458

“We’re expecting this to be the beginning of a very special relationship which will blossom over the seasons to come,” said World of Camping director Clay Cowie.

Although KingCamp is not yet well known in Europe, they already have a significant market presence in Australia, Canada and elsewhere worldwide – including China itself.

While manufactured goods from the Far East have a mixed reputation in the West, this is largely due to a pattern of company buyers sourcing the cheapest goods at the cheapest prices – a practice which inevitably tends to be detrimental to quality. By contrast, KingCamp’s products are manufactured for the Chinese market itself, and focus on quality as a cornerstone of their business plan.

This fundamental difference in design principle means that the KingCamp range has something very new to offer campers around the world. A different perspective of design, based on the needs of a different consumer base, has produced a range which will come as a refreshingly new style in the Western leisure market. Customers in the UK can expect to see a variety which will stand out in the field as individual and fresh, from the colours of the tents to the sizes in ranges like the KingCamp Family (available in sizes 2, 2+1 and 3 person – perfect for a young family).

While the UK is used to the concept of an average family having 2.4 children, this number has steadily dwindled in the last few decades, and the average is now, surprisingly, only 1.6 children per family. There are more ‘Only’ children here than ever before. This means that KingCamp’s range of small family tents geared up to a single child family will have a meaningful presence in the UK’s leisure market. 2+1 person tents for families with a toddler (or a 3 person tent for a slightly older child) are more useful now than might have been imagined a generation ago – and even larger families will start out with a single child.

The smaller tents in the range will also be ideal for the UK’s thriving music festival season, from Glastonbury and Download in June, WOMAD in July, right through to Green Man and End of the Road in August. The striking colours will really stand out at festivals, which is always helpful when trying to locate the tent amid the crowd of often very similar looks. The KingCamp Seine, the KingCamp Angel and the pop-up KingCamp Venice single-berth tent will be good choices for festival-goers.

The range of tents doesn’t end with small groups though – the KingCamp Bari 6 Tent is a great tent for small groups or larger families, with inner rooms placed on either side of a central area. Similarly, the KingCamp Caneel 5 has twin rooms for 4 to 5 persons, and is similar in comparison to some of the top-end tents already on the market, at a great price.

“We hope to pass on our savings from the deal we’ve secured with KingCamp so that we can offer our customers real new choices at tempting prices,” said Mr Cowie. “There are some outstanding sleeping bags, folding camp beds and airbeds to complete the camping bedroom.”

“KingCamp have great gear for both long holidays and short breaks, as well as for a garden and beach lifestyle. We’re proud to be offering some innovative barbecue products including portable charcoal BBQ ovens and BBQ tools, along with camping pan sets, compact utensil sets, camping cutlery and chopstick sets, and large size coolers.”

“There’s also a wide selection of standard camping equipment and general accessories like solar showers, drybags, canvas hammocks, folding chairs, folding tables and picnic furniture – not forgetting lanterns and torches, Hiking equipment like compasses and water bottles, and a stunning set of all kinds of bags including rucksacks and backpacks, ultralite day sacs, and colourful airport bags.”

World of Camping are an online camping retailer based in Redruth, Cornwall, and ship to consumers in the UK and throughout Europe.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1853458#ixzz2zGiZzDja