60th CARAVAN SALON with excellent results

At the 60th CARAVAN SALON DÜSSELDORF, which was again held under special auspices due to the current COVID pandemic, satisfaction was great for all parties involved after ten exhibition days. Messe Düsseldorf and the Caravaning Industrie Verband e. V. (CIVD) draw a positive conclusion. Top-class business deals, outstanding contacts made with caravanning fans and trade visitors plus very disciplined attendees were the hallmarks of the first major general-interest trade fair in Germany, which drew to a close on Sunday. Summing up Erhard Wienkamp, Managing Director Operative Trade Fair Business at Messe Düsseldorf, says: “Attendance of 185,000 people has clearly exceeded our expectations. 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.” Compliance/monitoring of the VRT-rules worked well, he adds, and the mutual consideration of all people present at the exhibition centre was remarkable. Again the percentage of first-time visitors registered was very high at 41%. 653 exhibitors from 31 countries presented their innovations, novelties and trends to the caravanning sector in 13 exhibition halls and on the outdoor space.  

CIVD President Hermann Pfaff was also delighted with the results of CARAVAN SALON: “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 No. 1 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.”  

Equally thrilled with the results of the trade fair were the exhibitors at CARAVAN SALON who reported very good sales.

“We travelled to CARAVAN SALON in Düsseldorf with great anticipation. This year, we have brought along an especially large number of exciting innovations meeting with an overwhelming response with our customers. In the caravan segment our top-of-the-range model Hobby Maxia is a real customer magnet like the Excellent Edition that targets modern families. In the motorhome segment demand for campervans continues unabated while the partially integrated Optima De Luxe with a new design is also enjoying very positive feedback. 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,” says Hobby CEO Holger Schulz.

Dr. Holger Siebert, CEO of Eura Mobil GmbH and Trigano Deutschland KG, is highly satisfied with the results obtained for all eight brands under the Trigano umbrella at this year’s Caravan Salon. “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.” Product innovations were presented especially in the growing segment of campervans with the launch of the ultra-compact Karmann-Mobil Duncan, the luxurious Eura Mobil Van and the introduction of the new PANAMA brand. With its sub-label 24-7-365 this brand stands for year-round use for work, leisure and vacation. As the market leader in Europe Trigano is thus further expanding in position on the German market as well.  

“Caravanning has become mainstream and is one of THE forms of holiday-making right now,” says Wolfgang Speck, CEO at Knaus Tabbert, and adds: “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.” Commenting on this CSO Gerd Adamietzki remarks: “Messe Düsseldorf’s well thought-out Hygiene and Safety Concept has also proven its worth again in this special year and enabled us to present our products – and we are delighted about this. After all, there’s nothing like direct contact with customers and their personal feedback, and they are extremely important to us. We can look back on great and very successful days at the trade fair.”

Bernd Wuschack, Manager Sales, Marketing and Customer Care at the Carthago Group: “We rate this year’s CARAVAN SALON as extremely positive. The response especially to our novel products, Carthago chic c-line New Generation and Malibu Van diversity, was outstanding. Not only was the turnout high but visitors were also very disciplined again. As a result the mood at our stands was very pleasant for the entire duration of the fair and marked primarily by high-quality conversations. 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.”

Also delighting at the results of the trade fair Mike Reuer, CEO of Westfalia Mobil GmbH, said: “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. Only when you can see, touch and experience things physically, can you really convince yourself of the merits and benefits of a product. This holds particularly true for vehicles premiered here. We and our dealers are highly satisfied with both attendance figures and the sales deals concluded at CARAVAN SALON.”

The trade fair also proved a success for the suppliers of “equipment by order” exhibiting technical equipment, detachable parts and installations. 

“We have positioned ourselves as a high-performance company that lives and breathes customer focus with forward-looking technology and service leadership buzzing with energy,” said Dr. Timo Schwickart, Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing AL-KO Vehicle Technology Group, summarising the trade fair successes: “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.”

Alexander Wottrich, CEO of the Truma Group, also takes positive stock: “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. Also and especially in pandemic times people are longing for more independence, freedom, nature, and time to disconnect. At Truma’s exhibition stand in Hall 14 the camping community convinced itself of the Truma iNet X System solution, which was among the highlights of this year’s fair. The feedback was overwhelming because users understood the visionary approach of connected travelling from the outset. Correspondingly positive were the constructive talks with vehicle manufacturers who found particular praise for the interactive presentation of the Truma Sales Team. I am so proud of how the complete trade fair team familiarised visitors with our highlight, the Truma iNet X System. With this innovative system we are adding a new chapter to the 72-year history of Truma after having worked towards bringing this solution to market for weeks and months on end. 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.”

This year Hall 3 celebrated a debut at CARAVAN SALON. Here exhibitors from the Equipment & Outdoor and the Travel & Nature segments showcased their ranges. “We are very satisfied and have to say that visitor structure stands out in particular. The audience is very high-quality and ever so well prepared – customers contact us with concrete intentions to buy and we have well-filled order books. Hall 3 was perfectly integrated and registered very good footfall for the entire duration of the trade fair. Accessories always pull crowds. This CARAVAN SALON was a resounding success for us across the board,” sums up Michael Haus, CEO Doréma Vorzelte GmbH.

Ute Dicks, General Manager of the German Hiking Association “Deutscher Wanderverband” (DWV): “The joy felt in creating encounters again at the trade fair location Düsseldorf was enormous and it was important to us to support this. Congratulations, it has worked. Hiking and caravanning complement each other very well which is why the idea of Messe Düsseldorf to give this trend more exposure through a 10-day exhibition concept, was right. It allows us to share the versatile, hikeable destinations and ideas of the DWV with a new target group. With even more outdoor ranges CARAVAN SALON can develop into an optimal platform for the future and reach out to wide target groups.”

The 61st CARAVAN SALON Düsseldorf will be held from 26 August to 4 September 2022.