History De Meerpaal
A true Zeeland family business at the bottom of the dunes of Zoutelande
In 1953, Jan and Krina Melis started De Meerpaal on a 0.5-hectare site. Over the years this grew to 1 hectare with 119 pitches, two toilet buildings and a camp shop. De Meerpaal was the first campsite on Walcheren to have flushing toilets connected to the sewage system.
In the early 1980s, De Meerpaal was voted the most child-friendly campsite in Zeeland. In 1985, son René joined the company and in 1988, house ‘de Brem’ was bought to rent out. The campsite expanded to 1.5 hectares with 131 pitches.
Innovations
In 2009, the major expansion to 10 hectares of surface area took place. The renovation was a quality move to make De Meerpaal ready for the coming decades. The development of new forms of accommodation and progressive construction using heat pumps and solar energy won the provincial tourism innovation award that year.
In 2014, the 3rd generation joined the business: René and Inez's eldest son Jordy and his wife Rosa started Brasserie de Meerpaal. The park was also connected to Zeelandnet's fibre-optic network to ensure a stable Wi-Fi network in the chalets and on the camping pitches.
Sustainability
2019 was all about making De Meerpaal more sustainable. The ambition is formulated to be completely CO2 neutral by 2040. As part of this:
- The solar park was built including a CO2 neutral shed.
- We have switched to bio propane.
- The food forest with bee hotel has been constructed.
