Sales of campervans rose by 16% in the first half of 2017 compared with last year and caravan purchases grew by 4%, reports the NOS.

Between January and the end of June, 1258 new campervans were registered in the Netherlands, according to figures from motoring organisations Bovag and VWE and the KCI camping and caravan industry association.

One in nine households with at least two people has a caravan or campervan, with a total of 550,000 in the Netherlands, they say.

A spokesperson from Bovag told the NOS broadcaster that the vehicles are particularly popular with pensioners, who often choose to buy luxury ‘glampervans’ costing some €70,000. ‘These people have a big pot of savings, no more work, and children who have flown the nest,’ the spokesperson said. ‘They travel around Europe in a camper equipped with all modern conveniences.’

Younger people, apparently, generally go for second hand vehicles and focus on holidaying abroad. The organisations have also noticed a growth in old-fashioned caravans, both old and new.

Bovag suggests that families that might have taken all-in package holidays somewhere like Turkey or Egypt in the past may be spending up to €10,000 on one of these old vehicles and hitting the road. ‘They think of the times when they went on holiday with their parents, and choose to hire or buy a caravan,’ added the spokesperson to NOS. ‘It’s old-fashioned fun at the campsite.’

As the Netherlands enjoys two weeks’ worth of rain in 24 hours, they doubtless follow the motto that there is no such thing as bad weather – just unsuitable cladding.