CARAVAN SALON 2023 inspires the community

Photo: Messe Düseldorf/ ct

The CARAVAN SALON 2023, which ended on Sunday after ten days of trade fair, showed that the holiday form of caravanning is inspiring more and more people and that the community is constantly growing. An excellent atmosphere, intensive dialogues and exchange of information prevailed on the fair grounds. Manufacturers and dealers reported promising customer discussions and numerous sales deals. "With 254,000 visitors from 65 countries, CARAVAN SALON 2023 made a very positive statement. In view of the challenging general conditions, we are more than pleased that we were able to achieve such a successful result. Trade visitors from all continents and consumers from all over Europe travelled to Düsseldorf and thus provided the special international flair of the CARAVAN SALON”, says Erhard Wienkamp, Managing Director Messe Düsseldorf.

Stefan Koschke, Director CARAVAN SALON, adds: "Our attractive and varied supporting program fully convinced the visitors. Both the "StarterWelt" and the trend theme "Abenteuer Selbstausbau/DIY" are central information hotspots at the CARAVAN SALON. The Travel & Nature CONNECTED stage has a huge fan community in Hall 3 with its colourful program on caravanning destinations around the world as well as advices on hiking and outdoor activities."

More than 750 exhibitors from 37 countries showed their innovations and current models in 16 exhibition halls as well as the outdoor area. On more than 250,000 square meters, leisure vehicles of all sizes and price ranges, mobile homes, awnings and roof tents were on display. Accessories, technical equipment and extension parts were very popular with the entire caravanning friends. In addition, visitors could plan their next trip or holiday individually at the stands of the camping and motorhome sites and at the destinations.

The newly elected Bernd Löher, President of the Caravanning Industry Association, summed up the 62nd edition of CARAVAN SALON very positively: “Many visitors, a very good atmosphere and unrivalled product variety. This is how people know and appreciate CARAVAN SALON in Düsseldorf. As a sector we can consider ourselves very luckily because such a positive trade fair result cannot be taken for granted in view of the tight economic situation and is an extremely positive impulse for the caravanning industry. With this, CARAVAN SALON once again reinforces its importance as a leading trade fair and beacon for our industry. My special praise goes to all exhibitors, who – despite difficult circumstances – again set new standards in terms of product quality and diversity. The wealth of innovations in vehicles, accessories, and services is and will remain the hallmark of CARAVAN SALON. Though it should not be forgotten that not only the products but also all aspects of caravanning have long since been given a big stage in Düsseldorf. This is why I am very proud that we were again able to welcome many personalities from business, science and political spheres to Düsseldorf. When high political dignitaries such as Minister Mona Neubaur or Minister Oliver Krischer pay a visit to our trade fair, this is an indication that caravanning receives the attention it deserves as a tourism and economic factor. However, this is only the beginning of CIVD’s work and the newly elected board will continue to commit to promoting the economic and tourist potential of our form of holiday ever further.”

CARAVAN SALON offers Knaus Tabbert ideal conditions for presenting themselves to the many visitors. The interest in our vehicles and visitor footfall in our halls was gratifyingly high. At the same time, after the overheated times of the pandemic, we now see a variety of ranges on offer again and, hence, also a certain normalisation of the market, which is also reflected by the stable sales figures on a high level,” sums up Gerd Adamietzki, Chief Sales Officer at Knaus Tabbert.

“For Hobby CARAVAN SALON in Düsseldorf marks the start of the new model year and is a key business climate barometer for the whole caravanning sector at the same time. We are delighted that our expectations were far exceeded and that we can look back on a very successful trade fair period with our dealership partners,” says Holger Schulz, Hobby’s Managing Director for Sales, and goes on to say: “This year we have revised our entire caravan portfolio and presented it in Düsseldorf for the first time. The interest in Hobby caravans and motorhomes continues unabated and we are very much looking forward to this new season. A special thankyou goes to Messe Düsseldorf, which has been instrumental to this success with allmost perfect organisation and very good public relations.”

Dr. Holger Siebert, Managing Director of Eura Mobil GmbH and Trigano Deutschland KG: "This year's CARAVAN SALON was characterised by the motorhome manufacturers' improved ability to deliver. Whereas last year you had to wait 1 to 2 years for your new dream motorhome, today the times are 3 to 12 months. The fact that - similar to house building - the manufacturing costs and thus also the prices of motorhomes have increased significantly has hardly affected the interest in mobile leisure. Customers are interested and want to buy new mobile homes. For some of our brands, such as Eura Mobil, Challenger or Benimar, we were even able to increase the previous year's good sales despite price and interest rate increases. Last but not least, the complete range of products covering the market and the professional atmosphere at CARAVAN SALON give customers confidence and security that they have invested their savings correctly”.

“For its brands Hymer and Eriba, Hymer GmbH & Co. KG looks back on a well-attended trade fair week and a good atmosphere at CARAVAN SALON 2023. The interest taken in this form of travelling continues unabated. In addition, stable prices and significantly improved delivery capability compared to the previous year are having a positive impact. In many personal conversations we learn that visitors attach increased importance to quality, especially in view of the design, functionality and furnishings of vehicles. Our trade fair message “More Style. Less Limits.” sums up this expectation and the interest taken in our innovations illustrates that our premium strategy precisely fulfils the expectations of demanding camping enthusiasts. CARAVAN SALON, as one of the world’s biggest trade fairs for mobile travelling is still a relevant format for us to meet and exchange ideas with dealers, partners, and customers as well as interested parties”, says Christian Bauer, President of Hymer GmbH & Co. KG.

Bernd Wuschack, CEO Sales, Marketing and Customer Service at Carthago Group: “Due to the continuing very tense supply and price situation we came with mixed expectations regarding success this year. We were all the more satisfied with the actual results of CARAVAN SALON. The attention that caravanning receives as a form of holiday continues to be very high which was reflected by the rising visitor numbers and the numerous positive conversations we had at our stands. To sum up, the trade fair for us boasted a high quality and pleasant atmosphere. At this juncture, it should also be mentioned that the cooperation with Messe Düsseldorf has worked as excellently as before. The highlight for our dealership partners and ourselves was the evening we spent together at the exhibition stand with our guest of honour Johann Lafer”.

“After a mixed fair last year, we travelled to Düsseldorf with rather subdued expectations and were very positively surprised. Customers take great interest in our entire range of models, they are looking to buy, are also very well informed beforehand and specifically focus on models and/or series before they come to our stand! Especially our Plus models on Citroen and Mercedes platforms are very popular and the highlights at the fair. We were likewise surprised by the great interest taken in buying 6.40m models. All in all, a successful CARAVAN SALON,” sums up Robert Hein, Head of Marketing, Press and Product Development at the Pössl Group.

”CARAVAN SALON is a very important platform for us. The event offers great opportunity for Dometic in many ways. It gives us a place to showcase our technical products with easy to grasp demonstration and real-life use case – which our customers, both business side and consumers appreciate a lot. Another aspect is that the event is a place to meet our customers. As a global player in the industry, CARAVAN SALON’s broad audience help us to interact with our multinational customer base. We welcome our customers from all over the world”, says Eva Karlsson, President of Segment EMEA at Dometic.

Ute Dicks, Managing Director of the German Hiking Association (DWV): "This year's CARAVAN SALON showed us that there was a demand for more combined offers concerning caravanning and camping with outdoor offers including hiking and cycling. Of course, we have a lot to offer with our quality initiative "Wanderbares Deutschland", but it would be desirable for many more destinations to join in. With the two well-received specialist events organized by the German Hiking Association together with its partners, we have noticed that the CARAVAN SALON offers a good platform for professional exchange and makes industry trends visible. The German Hiking Association is very pleased that its expertise in sustainability, trails and hiking is valued by the trade fair with its 140th anniversary, thank you very much”.

“CARAVAN SALON is increasingly evolving into a key travel fair where people are seeking far more than caravans and other vehicles. This also became clear at our stand: especially in demand were tips for hiking and for city trips – both themes where NRW is perfectly pitched for all travellers”, rejoices Dr. Heike Döll-König, Managing Director of Tourismus NRW. Under the motto “Draußenglück in NRW” eleven exhibitors presented the camping and caravanning destination North Rhine-Westphalia at the joint NRW pavilion. Nine tourism regions, Tourismus.NRW and Campingverband NRW were featured here.

Michael Krämer, CEO at CAMPWERK GmbH: “In the middle of a challenging year marked by innumerable insecurities and unfavourable weather conditions, it is such a joy to see how reliably CARAVAN SALON serves as an anchor point for the sector. The event’s impressive visitor attendance and response has made it clear: the passion for the adventure that is camping remains consistently high, in spite of all adversities. Particularly encouraging was also the noticeably higher footfall on weekdays, which had seen rather less traffic in the past. This high attendance is an extremely positive signal not only for CAMPWERK but for the camping industry as a whole. It underlines our confidence in a promising future. Altogether, we are highly satisfied with the results of this year’s CARAVAN SALON and look to next year with great anticipation.”

The CARAVAN SALON 2024 will take place from Friday, 30 August till Sunday, 8 September.

The last:All in CARAVANING will be held in Beijing from 19 to 21 April, 2024

Next up:For all those at home in the world