89,377 visitors attended this year’s Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show at the NEC, with a huge range of visitors exploring everything from tipis and tents to caravans and luxury lodges.
Despite a stormy half term week, exhibitors reported strong business during the six days of the show, which offered the UK’s largest display of caravans, campervans, motorhomes, caravan holiday homes & lodges, tents, awnings and accessories, all at one venue.
As well as five halls full of exhibitors, the show saw a packed programme of celebrity guests including Shane Richie opening the show alongside industry favourite Matt Allwright, and recent Strictly Come Dancing star Kelvin Fletcher joining Rowland Rivron in the Freedom To Go Live Theatre.
Families flocked to the feature activities including crazy golf, a climbing wall, face painting on a number of exhibitor stands and the brand new Electric In Motion area where cycle brands Roodog, Ride & Glide and Ribble gave young and older visitors a taste of electric powered bicycle power, as well as scooters and skateboards.
The ever-popular Top Dog Arena returned with amazing agility demonstrations by four-legged stars.
Commenting on the show, Jenny Summers, NCC Events Marketing Director said: “We were delighted with the visitor numbers and the quality of the show experience, created by our exhibitors in 2020. This spring event is designed to bring new people into our industry and give a taste of the outdoor lifestyle from all parts of the industry. We had both Channel 5 and BBC Radio 4 at the show, as well as brilliant support from the local media despite the weather in the region creating issues for many.”
The Caravan and Motorhome Club revealed that campervanners enjoy twice as many holidays as the average Brit does, according to a survey it carried out in time for the show. The survey looking at holiday habits of British holidaymakers found that caravanners and motorhomers pack in around eight trips of a weekend away or longer per year, compared to the average Brit who only manage four breaks maximum each year.
Nick Page, Commercial Director, Swift Group said: “We’ve had a fantastic show with strong footfall resulting in retail sales growth across many Swift ranges. A leading highlight was the launch of the Basecamp 4 Special Edition, a major success that helped create interest across the whole stand.”
Simon Howard, Marketing Director of Bailey of Bristol said: “Naturally we would like to thank everyone who came to see us at the Caravan, Camping & Motorhome Show at the NEC, Birmingham. The show kicked off with the launch of the all-new Alicanto Grande Faro layout, the announcement of our new motorhome ambassadors – Andy Tobert and Bex Biggins and news of our latest epic adventure, where we will be taking on the ‘Sahara Challenge’ as we head to the desert this spring.
“Products across the spectrum from top-of-the-range Autograph motorhomes to the daringly different Discovery caravan range, all out-performed our expectations and overall the show was a great success with our current portfolio paying dividends in terms of overall results.”
Elliot Hibbs, MD Coachman Caravans added: “We are delighted with results of the show, with an increase of 25% in retail sales and the second-best February NEC in recent years. All models retailed well but the stand out range was the new ‘Acadia’ with just over 50% of our sales. Well done to the NCC Events for another successful show.”
Kirsten Bolton, Marketing Director, Willerby, said added: “This has been a very exciting show for us as we have launched three new homes, including our Mapleton lodge; this is a fantastic addition to our offering and visitors at the show were able to take a look first-hand at the unique and spacious design on offer.”
Steve Sharp, Group MD Lowdhams Caravans siad: “We finished 15% up on motorhome sales in comparison to last year, so we are very happy about that and we also managed to sell a few Airstreams throughout the show, so we’re delighted with that too.
“I would say overall we’ve had lots of positive interest, with a lot of new people looking to enter the market for the first time… so lots of positives to take from this year.”
Adrian Cross, Director, Hillside Leisure said: “After a mild start, this show ended as our best February show to date and we ended 7% up on our previous best for the Feb show.”
Simon McGrath of The Camping and Caravanning Club noted: “NEC shows are always a great opportunity for us to chat to existing members, together with those who sign up to membership of the Club on our stand. Over the course of six days we gave a warm, Friendly Club welcome to several thousand members.”
Harvey Alexander, Caravan and Motorhome Club Director of Marketing said, “The Caravan Camping and Motorhome Show has certainly got the touring year off to a great start. The Caravan and Motorhome Club stand was hugely popular throughout the whole show, it was great to see so many happy Club members planning their next adventure in new leisure vehicles purchased at the show.
“Club Day was very successful for us with numerous media interviews. Show visitors loved seeing Matt Allwright and Karen Wright on our stand, and our manoeuvring sessions were fully booked every day.”
Cathy Chamberlain MD Barefoot Caravans added: “It was great to catch up with so many Barefoot customers and of course make new ones at the Show. Our unique design of caravans seems to have created a new market for caravan buyers and it is wonderful for us to hear how far and wide our customers are travelling, both around the UK and throughout Europe.
As always, the show had some great activities and talks for all ages and somehow brought the outside into the NEC, with a bit of extra sunshine! Roll on the Summer, and great adventures for all.
“Thousands of people visited the show across the six days, and we were thrilled to welcome visitors to our stand to explore the models first-hand. We’re looking forward to helping make holidays more relaxing for families across the UK.”
Alexander Wehrmann, Director of Marketing and PR at Carthargo said: “After exhibiting at the NEC in February for 8 years in a row, this was our most successful trade fair to date. We have achieved growth for both brands and our new models have received a lot of attention. This result shows that the Carthago-Malibu Group remains strong in times of economic uncertainty.”
For a selection of images from the show, please click here
Editor’s Contacts:
Simon Boddy, Plaster Creative Communications
T: 011 953 0320
E: simon@weareplaster.com
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