For over ten days the heart of the caravanning industry has been beating at the CARAVAN SALON in Düsseldorf. The world’s largest trade fair for motorhomes and caravans again succeeded in clearly outperforming last year’s top results posting a new all-time high.
Words Andrea Cattaneo
“CARAVAN SALON 2019 was an outstanding event with satisfied visitors and exhibitors, brilliant sales figures and an excellent mood prevailing across the entire fairgrounds. At 268,000 the number of visitors (2018: 250,211) has more than fulfilled our expectations as organisers and, in particular, the expectations of exhibitors. This makes our event not only the best-visited trade fair for caravanning but also Europe’s most visited leisure and holiday fair,” says Wolfram N. Diener, Managing Director at Messe Düsseldorf GmbH. There were large crowds of visitors registered especially on the two weekends. The Caravan Center, the big RV park on parking lot 1, was also booked up for the whole duration of the trade fair. “CARAVAN SALON is growing constantly and underscores its great relevance for both the industry as a glamorous business platform and for the whole family as an experience destination. It is not only the diversity of vehicles and products that give CARAVAN SALON a unique selling point. In Düsseldorf visitors also get to see the latest state-of-the-art innovations and developments in caravanning, plus all the topical trend themes, innovations and visions for the years to come,” says Diener who goes on to say that the joint concept by exhibitors, the Caravaning Industrie Verband (CIVD) and the Düsseldorf trade fair company has worked out perfectly. A total of 645 exhibitors from 31 countries presented their innovations and current models in 13 halls and on the outdoor premises. To the tune of 2,100 RVs were displayed on more than 214,000 square metres, plus accessories, technical equipment, attachment parts, awnings and mobile homes. In addition to this, campsites, RV parks and travel destinations were on show. The exhibitors at CARAVAN SALON were also filled with enthusiasm about the trade fair results and reported excellent sales deals. Likewise, the higher visitor numbers also caused a higher footfall at the stands in the tourism hall as well as the cash & carry area in Hall 7a. Expert talks have never been that in-depth before, explains Jürgen Dieckert, General Manger at IRMA / TopPlatz. “The demand at our stand was enormous. We were approached by many trade visitors who had either just built a parking space or were planning the corresponding investment. The international origin of visitors was striking – especially from the Netherlands and Spain.” At the same time, he registered a high percentage of new customers and starters. “I am particularly pleased with the positive feedback we received at the expert forum on RV pitches organised by CIVD and ADAC. Furthermore, we capitalised on the trade fair to launch our RV park traffic light and have received a huge response,” rejoices Dieckert. The 59th CARAVAN SALON Düsseldorf will be held from 28 August (trade visitor and media day) to 6 September 2020.
“CARAVAN SALON confirms the general, exuberant mood in the caravanning sector with record visitor numbers and superb sales figures. The atmosphere among exhibitors and visitors in the halls was first-rate.” He also rated the great number of innovations, global premieres and vehicle studies as particularly positive. “The new materials presented here, various drive technologies as well as the solutions for weight reduction show that the industry is concentrating on many themes of tomorrow,” adds Pfaff. Apart from filled order books, great dynamism can be felt in the entire sector, he confirms; many manufacturers are looking to the future with great optimism. “The Düsseldorf trade fair is the most important platform for international industry experts and insiders, who can network and make contacts here. Accompanying conferences and events on such topics as mobility or infrastructure additionally strengthen the CARAVAN SALON’s standing as the world’s biggest and leading trade fair.”
“We are particularly pleased with this year’s kick-off to the season. We look forward to this new season because the Hobby brand comes with convincing products and generates a great deal of interest among customers of all ages. In the motorhome segment it is especially our two new entry-price series OPTIMA ONTOUR and OPTIMA ONTOUR EDITION that score points with visitors. Boasting all features and top value for money these models have convinced our Hobby buyers. In the caravan segment the family models are particularly popular again. The two new layouts of the PRESTIGE series featuring the modern L-shaped kitchen and the giant lounge suite are received very well by our buyers.” 
“We are delighted at the successful CARAVAN SALON with record-breaking high visitor numbers. The days spent here proved a resounding success for us. At the start of the fair we already managed to make it perfectly clear that the takeover of Erwin Hymer Group by THOR Industries creates a win-win situation for all parties involved. With our broad-based portfolio we offer the right solution for all customer needs worldwide. We realised as clearly as ever: caravanning is the trend. We welcomed an evidently younger audience and many starters at our brands’ exhibition stands. The avid interest taken in compact entry-price vehicles has motivated many new interested people to come to Düsseldorf. Alongside this, it is getting clearer and clearer that digitalisation will be the key to future mobility and leisure experiences. We build upon these impulses and look forward to an autumn 2019, where we hope to see as many interested people as possible again at our dealers.”
“This is the second consecutive year we can look back on a fantastic CARAVAN SALON with record visitor attendance over 250,000 and further growing media interest across all of Europe. This, of course, strongly benefits us at Trigano, since almost one in three motorhomes in Europe is produced by a Trigano brand after all. At this edition we have seen particularly strong interest in our premium brand Eura Mobil, confirming that seasoned motorhome owners place emphasis on quality, durability and good service. This is also reflected by the strong interest taken in the 5-year guarantee, which we also offer for our van specialist Karmann-Mobil and even for our entry-price brand Forster. Here we pride ourselves on having the youngest customers on the market, who prefer easy shopping with a straightforward product and long guarantee in addition to focusing on such “young themes” as connectivity.”
“Caravanning has finally become mainstream – as this year’s CARAVAN SALON again clearly demonstrates,” says Gerd Adamietzki, CSO/General Manager at Knaus Tabbert GmbH, and adds: “This trade fair offers us second-to-none conditions for introducing our customers to our innovations – and they are extremely well received as our even higher growth rates show. The CARAVAN SALON again proved extremely successful for us and has not only exceeded our expectations but also previous year’s results. Our customers are thrilled, our dealers very satisfied. Knaus Tabbert sets decisive trends in this industry.” 
“The CARAVAN SALON has traditionally served as the kick-off to, and barometer for, the new model year. For the Carthago Group this kick-off was very successful. We met with many potential buyers among the numerous visitors. As a consequence, we are very happy with the results of the trade fair because the deals closed reach the very high business level of the previous year. In the limelight was especially the new generation of the Carthago chic e-line. Our new portfolio of chic e-line and chic c-line models on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter base vehicle also struck a significant chord with visitors. In terms of the Malibu brand it was especially the vans that met with the same high demand. Now our trade partners are looking forward to successful post-show business.”
“The CARAVAN SALON, is like every year the perfect kick-off of the new RV show season. Where it used to be the main European show, we meanwhile can state it is the main worldwide show. More and more American and Asian companies come to join us in experiencing all European innovations. All worldwide OEM’s and European wholesalers visited us and also from end users perspective it has been busy all week. Innovation is key and we are happy to be able to surprise in both the OEM market and the Aftermarket. The RV market shows itself to be alive and kicking here in Dusseldorf.”