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An impressive attendance of 185,000 people ‘exceeded the expectations’ of Caravan Salon organisers Messe Düsseldorf on what was the 60th anniversary edition of the show this year. Taking place between 27 August and 5 September, Caravan Salon 2021 housed 653 exhibitors from 31 different countries to showcase their innovative products and services to the industry and consumers alike.

“Attendance of 185,000 people has clearly exceeded our expectations,” said Messe Düsseldorf’s managing director operative for trade fair business Erhard Wienkamp.

“With this unique combination of business platform and caravanning festival Caravan Salon confirms its prominent position in the sector. The mood at the fair grounds and inside the halls was high. We are also very happy to note that visitors again endorsed our proven hygiene concept.”

German Caravan Industry Association (CIVD) president Hermann Pfaff echoed the positive feeling in the aftermath of the show, adding: “For its 60th anniversary Caravan Salon presented itself in top shape underpinning its status as the leading trade fair of the industry. At no other place can such a wide range of products, so many innovations and novelties be seen as in Düsseldorf. The ranges presented to visitors were not only versatile, informative, and entertaining but also attractively staged. Gratifying here is not only the high turnout in total but also the fact that more and more newbies as well as many young families have visited the trade fair. Caravanning is the number one form of holiday trending in 2021 and beyond. Individual, self-sufficient, and flexible travelling has been very much ‘en vogue’ not least since the COVID pandemic if not before. This means many exhibitors are returning home with order books filled as well as rarely before – and this across all product categories and vehicle classes. In brief: CARAVAN SALON 2021 was a huge success for all parties involved – trade fair company, exhibitors and visitors.”

About 41 per cent of visitors to Caravan Salon this year were first-time attendees, which proves Herman’s point rather poignantly.

WHAT THE EXHIBITORS SAID

Hobby CEO, Holger Schulz: “Our Beachy displayed on beach sand is definitely a highlight of the trade fair and is also going down very well with visitors. Both in terms of business and the extensive media coverage, Caravan Salon 2021 is a resounding success for us.”

Eura Mobil CEO, Dr Holger Siebert: “Despite the fact that production in all plants is running at full capacity until next summer, many customers were still able to order their dream vehicle. Positive to note is that customers are informed about the international supply chain disruptions and therefore have understanding for the currently long delivery times.”

Knaus Tabbert CEO, Wolfgang Speck: “Caravan Salon has shown once again that this industry is booming – and that Knaus Tabbert is booming. The many enthusiastic customers and our sales figures confirm the performance of our whole team and show us that we have taken the right path as innovation drivers.”

Carthago Group sales marketing and customer service manager, Bernd Wuschack: “We rate this year’s Caravan Salon as extremely positive. This is definitely also a consequence of increased online research activities that were rounded off by the personal visit to the trade fair: doing thorough research up front to then form that all-important personal impression to make a purchasing decision at the fair – this is the clear trend we identified.”

Westfalia Mobil CEO, Mike Reuer: “Even in times of filled order books Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf is one of the most relevant marketing instruments for us as manufacturers. This is why it is important to us to showcase and offer our campervans to the interested audience here. Our presence here is received very well and the consistently high visitor figures allow us to register further growing interest in our new and existing products as well as the Westfalia brand.”

AL-KO Vehicle Technology Group senior VP of sales and marketing, Dr Timo Schwickart: “We are delighted with the many projects and orders as well as the avid interest taken in the chassis and accessory innovations of our brands AL-KO, E&P, SAWIKO as well as Nordelettronica and CBE. As we had hoped, our exhibition stand proved an attractive communication centre for our customers and the sector as a whole. I would like to particularly thank my whole team – on site and back at the homebase – for their huge efforts and their performance, and also Messe Düsseldorf, that made this accomplished re-start possible under the given conditions.”

Truma Group CEO, Alexander Wottrich: “Caravan Salon 2021 also proved extremely satisfactory for us and has clearly demonstrated that the caravanning world will be even more digital, global and fast-moving. It was really emotional to see how everyone now has worked hard to share our vision of connected travelling with so many trade fair guests.”

The 2022 edition of Caravan Salon will be held from 26 August to 4 September.

THE CAMPING TRADE WORLD VIEW

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