Camtar X Vercors – Carisme Campground in the Mountains and Transition in the Vercors

Recreational vehicles (RVs, campervans, converted trucks) are experiencing a significant boom and are helping to reshape contemporary tourism mobility. At the intersection of transportation, temporary housing, and itinerant tourism, these practices rely heavily on participatory digital tools such as Park4Night, which organize networks of stopovers and help reshape tourism patterns, particularly in natural and mountainous areas.

Building on the Camtar project, which highlighted the emergence of informal routes and the central role of user communities in shaping visitor flows, this project represents a new phase of research focused on the Alps. It aims to analyze in greater detail the territorial and environmental effects of these practices, particularly in areas subject to high visitor pressure.

Fieldwork will begin in the spring of 2026, in partnership with the Vercors Regional Nature Park, to identify issues specific to mountain areas, particularly regarding biodiversity and land-use management. This survey will be supplemented by an online consultation across the Alpine region to better understand the challenges faced by local stakeholders and to identify existing initiatives.

The organization of a workshop in the fall of 2026 will be a key milestone in the project. It will bring together researchers and practitioners to share findings, integrate disciplinary approaches, and lay the groundwork for an action-research network. The goal is to build collective momentum across the Alps around these new forms of mobility and their regional impacts.