Shropshire’s award-winning dealership Salop Leisure is helping to drive a national campaign to promote the lifestyle benefits of caravan and motorhome holidays to a younger audience.

The Shrewsbury-based company, which has won the Practical Caravan dealership of the year for the second time in three years, believes the ‘Freedom to Go’ campaign will help attract more newcomers to leisure vehicle holidays this year.

Freedom to Go is a joint campaign by the caravan industry, bringing together the NCC, The Caravan Club and Camping and Caravanning Club. 

Salop Leisure’s managing director Mark Bebb is a member of the campaign’s steering committee. His company, which has sales centres in Shrewsbury, Machynlleth and Stourport-on-Severn, invests £500,000 a year promoting the caravan industry and the business. 

Freedom to Go, which has a website at http://www.freedomtogo.co.uk/, showcases all that British destinations have to offer, details unique adventures that touring holidays make possible and recommends different types of vehicles to those seeking a new holiday experience. 

One of the things that people enjoy about camping and caravanning is how social it can be. Families regularly meet up, year after year, at their favourite campsite and find it a great way to make friends. It’s also a good way to enjoy the great outdoors and find out about upcoming events, shows, festivals and club meetings.

Whether you’re an intrepid explorer, an active adventurer or a laid back nature lover, the campaign aims to help find the ideal escape and the right leisure vehicle to get you on the road to freedom.

Whether you love walking through the countryside or cycling less travelled roads, scaling sheer cliffs or gazing at the stars, riding breaking waves or angling for the perfect catch, the campaign says “just pack up and go”.

“Close your eyes, take a deep breath and savour the fresh air and the feel of grass between your toes as the sun warms your face.” 

Mr Bebb said the long term, multi-channelled campaign aimed to raise brand awareness and build consumer confidence in caravans and motorhomes as a real alternative for leisure and holidays. 

“The caravan industry currently deals with two per cent of the British population and if we can increase that to three per cent that will dramatically alter the industry,” he added. “Our products give people fantastic lifestyle benefits, as they bring families together and get children away from technology enjoying healthy leisure pursuits in the fresh air.

“By marketing caravans and motorhomes to people who don’t understand their benefits, we can grow the industry which will lead to improved product design, better customer service and more investment.

“It’s a great pleasure to be working with some of the brightest minds in the industry on the campaign and helps to focus my mind on what we are doing as a company.”