The manager of Kokkola Camping, Erkki Ahtiainen, will stop his activities as the manager of the campsite after the 2024 season. Now we should figure out how to continue in the area.
In Kokkola, the future of Kokkola Camping is being considered.
There are several options for continuation.
The consideration is that the city would sell the properties to a new entrepreneur, who would rent the land from the city under a long-term contract. He should also commit to developing the operation.
The alternative is a leader who continues operations on the current basis. The camp could also be taken over entirely as the city’s own activity or it could be demolished.
The working group, which has been considering the extension of the area since the end of 2021, supports the sale of Leirintämökki to a new entrepreneur.
The working group does not see camping as a core industry of the city. Continuing with the current model, the city would have to invest hundreds of thousands of euros in the next few years to renovate the camping cabins.
Expensive solutions for entrepreneurs?
Erkki Ahtiainen, who has been running Kokkola Camping in Kokkola Meripuisto for a long time, is satisfied that the operation has developed favorably in recent years.
Therefore, he doesn’t think it would make sense to close the campsite. The working group that considered the future of the area does not support termination. In its opinion, the city should sell the cottages to a new entrepreneur.
From an entrepreneur’s point of view, the plan has big financial challenges for those who would buy the cabins and start running the campsite:
– He should first buy the cottages and in the next few years invest hundreds of thousands of euros in the renovation of the buildings. There is an investment need of up to a million euros here. For example, the main building and camping cabins would have to be renovated and more cabins with showers would be needed, so the million will come soon, Ahtiainen calculates.
In addition, possible expansion dreams are faced with a cramped plot that has no room for growth.
