BH&HPA chairman is elected from Yorkshire Dales holiday park

Thomas Marshall, owner of Riverside Caravan Park a Yorkshire Dales holiday park, has become the national chairman of the British Holiday & Home Parks Association (BH&HPA).

Mr Marshall was elected to the office by fellow members of the association to which some 3,000 holiday and residential park businesses in Britain belong.

Fast-growing holiday park industry

He will now be helping to spearhead a fast-growing holiday park industry which generates £9.3 billion of visitor spending each year, and supports over 170,000 full-time jobs.

Like the majority of parks in membership of BH&HPA, Mr Marshall’s Riverside Caravan Park in High Bentham has been family owned for successive generations.

It’s currently celebrating its 50th year having evolved from a beef and sheep farm to a multi-award winning holiday park providing over 250 holiday caravans plus touring pitches.

The business, which also owns the 18-hole Bentham Golf Course and adjoining Wenningdale Escapes park is today run by Thomas with the help of his wife Jane, daughter Isabel, and son John.

65 years of Holiday Park Association

As the new BH&HPA chairman, Mr Marshall says he is proud to be taking the reins of the park industry’s 65-year-old official body, and sees significant new opportunities on the horizon for the sector:

“During two challenging years of the pandemic, holiday parks fluctuated between coping with enforced closures and unprecedented demand for domestic holidays,” he said.

“As we emerge from the crisis, it’s becoming clear that many families are keen to continue enjoying a UK holiday experience in the relaxed environment which parks provide.

“But this also presents us with the challenge of ensuring that we carry on delivering a high quality and constantly evolving product to ensure the staycation trend continues.

BH&HPA knowledge and experience

“I’ve every confidence we can succeed, and BH&HPA provides the perfect platform on which we can all come together to share our knowledge and experiences in order to help each other.

“Important too will be the association’s longstanding role of engaging with the government and Whitehall, and promoting the principles of green tourism,” said Mr Marshall.

Recent developments at both Riverside Caravan Park and Wenningdale Escapes have included a £1.5 million investment in new luxury holiday lodges, plus additional fully-equipped glamping pods.

There is more information about the park at www.riversidecaravanpark.co.uk