Leading tourism and holiday show CMT was regarded as a success by organisers when it took place at the Messe Stuttgart in Germany from 18 to 26 January.

The show attracted an impressive 260,000 visitors over its nine-day duration alongside 1,570 exhibitors covering caravanning, camping, and many other forms of tourism and outdoor leisure.

It was also reported that CMT 2025 attracted around 34,000 trade visitors – a third of which travelled more than 100km to be at the show, and 34 per cent of them held a management position in their company.

“The CMT fair lived up to its reputation as the world’s largest public trade fair for tourism and leisure,” said Roland Bleinroth, Managing Director of Messe Stuttgart.

“We welcomed 260,000 visitors to our site who were very happy with the offers in the tourism and caravanning sectors. Our exhibitors were also extremely satisfied: they not only looked and compared, but also booked, bought and ordered.”

The camping and caravanning sector of the show was purported to be a particularly popular part of the show according to the organisers.

Alexander Ege, Director of Tourism and Caravanning at CMT, said: “With a huge selection of vehicles, many innovations and new products as well as numerous attractive trade fair discounts.”

Meanwhile, Matthias Euch, Deputy Chairman of the German Caravaning Trade Association (DCHV), added: “Sales are stable and slightly above last year’s level. This makes the CMT 2025 a good start to the year for us. Thanks to the really great trade fair offers, visitors have the opportunity to get a real bargain here.”

Trends from the caravanning sector of CMT backed up recent stats revealed by the European Caravan Federation that motorhomes and panel vans are driving growth in the sector, particularly now that delivery problems brought about by the Covid years are over.

Jochen Regenbogen, Sales Manager Germany-Austria-Switzerland for Dethleffs GmbH said: “The interest was huge, the frequency was great, sales were at the same level as last year. Many new customers came to the stand, whom we were able to advise comprehensively here at the CMT. We invested a lot in the stand so that we could show our customers almost everything. It has proven its worth. We are absolutely satisfied.”

Manuel Sauter, Regional Sales Manager at Pössl Freizeit und Sport GmbH, added: “We encountered high demand and keen interest. There was always a lot going on at the stand, whether it was the weekend or a weekday. We were able to provide intensive advice and are very satisfied with sales. Another positive thing is that more and more retailers are using the CMT as a B2B platform. Our presence was definitely worth it.”

CMT hosted a brand-new subsidiary show during its event this year that was focussed on DIY self-conversion camper vans and all related products. This subsidiary show proved to be a huge success, with CMT reporting that 40 per cent of visitors travelled from more than 100km away to visit the stands of more than 40 exhibiting companies.

Sven Mammach, co-managing director of the Busbastler Academy, said: “Our appearance was very well received. Both our stand at the hall entrance and our offer made us the first port of call. Half of the customers already own a motorhome and want to completely convert it; the others were newcomers. In addition to questions about electricity, water supply or batteries, the focus was often on room concepts for people with disabilities. We were able to give good advice and refer interested parties to other appropriate exhibitors. Our workshops were also well requested and booked. Everyone was happy that the topic of self-conversion was finally being examined in detail. I see great potential here, there is still a lot of room for improvement.”

Photos: Landesmesse Stuttgart GmbH & Co. KG