Anniversary Caravaning Brno confirmed a reason to celebrate

"Great progress was seen in the segment of off-road trailers and accessories, which appeals not only to adventurous travellers, but also to ordinary caravanners. Exhibitors boasted their offers and brought the best that is available on the market these days, " stated project director Petr Maliňák.

A number of exhibits premiered at the expo; brands with multiple years of tradition as well as completely new companies and start-ups presented themselves. One couldn’t miss the popular caravan bazaar could, where people could choose from hundreds of vehicles at more favourable prices. Add to this a wealth of camping accessories and an absolutely exhaustive extra programme full of lectures, discussions, travel tips and advice, and it is no wonder that the expo attracted as many as 31,400 visitors.

This expo is one big inspiration

There were also enthusiasts at the expo who promote this style of travel anywhere they go – such as journalist and traveller Pepa Vrtal aka Fotr na Tripu (Dad on a Trip), presenter Monika Leová Košínová or motorcyclist Igor Brezovar. "This expo is a great inspiration for everyone who has questions about what to use and how to travel. They will find the answer here, because you can travel cheaply, for a few bucks, or expensively for a lot of money. For me, it's one of the best events I've ever attended," appreciated Pepa Vrtal, who was helped at the booth by his entire big family. Additional prominent figures visited Brno, such as actor Lukáš Langmajer, Simona Krainová's sister Yvona Maléřová Krainová, Miss Nikol Švantnerová and presenter Marta Ondráčková – all of them came to see, and buy.

Caravanning in the Czech Republic still seeing a boom

"Caravanning is still on the rise. Two thousand new caravans or motorhomes are sold annually, and their numbers have almost quadrupled over the last 10 years," confirms the growing trend Jan Bordovský, chairman of the Czech Camping and Caravanning Association (AKK ČR). Currently, there are about seventy thousand cars or caravans registered, and if we add more than thirty thousand home-made conversions to that, then we are at a hundred thousand. However, what is missing, according to the chairman, is the necessary infrastructure. Camping has a long-standing tradition in our country – in fact, AKK ČR, which is a traditional partner of the expo, was founded 90 years ago. "Caravans today no longer only fulfil the function of travel for elderly mobile owners, but are often used as facilities for athletes, or pet owners at exhibitions. With the target group getting still younger, the demand in the segment of mini-caravans, roof tents and universal multifunctional solutions is growing," added Jan Bordovský. For that same reason, more space was given this year for the off-road and adventure segment in the new Hall G1. And it turned out to be a step in the right direction.

Czech and global premieres

This year's expo was really rich in innovations, which appeared in all three halls. One of them was, for example, a French motorhome, which deliberately carried the name of Ostrava, a well-known Czech city. Increasingly compact residential built-ins were also on display, both in classic vans, and still more often on chassis with 4x4 drive. Some of them were nothing short of the interior and prices of a luxury yacht, others offered an affordable standard and the offer satisfied even handy do-it-yourselfers who fine-tuned the built-ins their own way. New brands of large and small camper trailers appeared, and there was also the lightest mini trailer in the weight category up to 123 kg for vintage lovers. Czech manufacturers demonstrated their competitiveness and offered cutting-edge products – whether it was the first 4x4 off-road electric vehicle, mini-campers, built-ins, roof tents or pick-up extensions made of fiberglass. Energy independence was again a big topic, all components from battery stations to solar panels to the first 3-in-1 portable refrigerator were on display at the expo.

Generous programme for the whole family

A rich extra programme was prepared in cooperation with partners, and the stages in halls P and G1 were constantly besieged by visitors. Discussions with travellers took turns with practical advice; featured guests included several interesting personalities. The programme was taken care of by Jan Bordovský from AKK ČR, and journalist and traveller Tomáš Málek, who spends nine months each year in a van with his family. Great interest was also enjoyed by the Adventure Village in Hall G1, where a themed play corner was prepared for exhibitors’ and visitors’ kids. The Caravan Park also contributed to the good vibes, where everyone who wanted to spend their stay at the expo in style – in a camper van – found refuge. In summary, Caravaning Brno was truly vibrant over the entire four days.

The GO and REGIONTOUR fairs delighted travellers

The GO and REGIONTOUR tourism fairs were held at the same time, offering travel agency tours, popular destinations and excursion destinations. Visitors came to choose tours for the entire year, both winter skiing and summer to the sea and shorter or longer sightseeing. Many travel agencies offered expo discounts, but visitors especially appreciated the opportunity to meet experts in person and consult with them about choosing a vacation. There was great interest in the interactive exhibitions of regions with demonstrations of old crafts, live music or tastings of local food specials. Several regions from Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia also exhibited, as well as cities, spa resorts and individual service providers. The 27th year of the GO Kamera travel festival was also held at the exhibition centre with dozens of lectures by interesting personalities such as practitioner Tomáš Šebek and photographer and traveller Jiří Kolbaba.

What people said about the expo

Josef Vrtal, Fotr na Tripu, ambassador of the expo

This expo is a great inspiration for everyone who has questions about what to use and how to travel. They will find the answer here, because you can travel cheaply, for a few bucks, or expensively for a lot of money. For me, it's one of the best events I've ever attended. The only issue was that I could hardly see the expo at all because we couldn't get out of our booth, as there were so many people around interested in our trip. 

 Jan Bordovský, Czech Camping and Caravanning Association

For us, this year is a turning point again after the twenty years; thanks to the third hall we started a new era of the Caravaning fair. On the other hand, it will be a big challenge to keep those three halls. For myself, I would like to focus more on families with children, for example prepare a programme for children, because there are a lot of them here and they don't have many things to do here. Otherwise, from the point of view of turnout, the composition of visitors and the overall mood among people and relations between exhibitors, this year it was a very pleasant event.

Lorena Turri, WINGAMM (AZ servis)

It's my first time in Brno, and I didn't expect such a great show. The halls are constantly crowded with people. This market is particularly important for us as we are expanding throughout Europe. We have visited all the exhibitions in Europe, UK, Germany, Switzerland and have acquired many new customers. I have the same feeling here in Brno.

Jaroslav Vavera, Caravan magazine

The expansion into the three halls and the differentiation of types of equipment, as well as accessories, tents and other models for built-ins, certainly helped the expo. Caravanning is still a trend, people want to travel, but today's visitor must think twice, because the middle class in particular has deeper pockets.

Jan Vážný, Tent4rent

As always, we are satisfied and happy to return to South Moravia, it is a nice end to the season again. At the expo, we basically talk with clients about where we travelled, how we liked it there, and we also get feedback on our products.

Igor Brezovar, traveller

I've been attending trade shows all my life, whether it was construction, engineering, or caravans. I have to say that I haven't seen such a turnout as these days at Caravaning in a long time. I'm excited about it, people want to see and also touch the vehicles, the tents, the things. It's not just about the internet or digital life. I must brag that for a long time I haven't sold as many books in one day as here. You can see that people are hungry for travel, personal contact, autographs, and handshakes. I hope the fairs will remain attractive forever.

Sandra Jiras, Backi Adventure (Adventure Village)

The turnout was incredible, many interested people came and often returned during the day. We also had customers who came back the next day. For us, this year was absolutely great and as for our chill zone, it was literally bursting at the seams. There were queues for the toy cars, the children's corner was used to the maximum, the coffee machine never paused, prosecco was flowing, and I think we created a really great atmosphere and that everyone enjoyed it, sellers and visitors alike.

Martin Veselý, MW Motors

This year we were at the expo for the first time as regards caravanning. We were pleased that quite a lot of people were here, and we received a lot of compliments. The customers were pleasantly surprised that we are a Czech manufacturer from Pilsen and that we sell quality Czech products heading to Europe.

Aneta Skopalová, 4camping

This year, accessories, crockery and glasses sold the most, while furniture sold a little less. In terms of the number of people, the interest was sufficient, they also asked about our website, where they ordered additional stuff.

Tomáš Brabec, KARAVANYPRO

I like that this year the expo is bigger, spreading over three halls. There were really a lot of people, we never paused in the four days. So, I rate the expo very positively this year. In addition, I am traditionally enthusiastic about the organisation here in Brno, a great satisfaction for me.

Jan Myslil, Camping City

We are very satisfied with this year's expo, we were not here last year, so we are even more pleased. We are really excited because we have sold a lot of cars, we also have a lot of customers coming to our branch. The organisation here is perfect, with a village for people who came with a camper being also an enormous success. Superlatives only.

Kristián Holzbecher, Camping World Neugebauer

The expo in Brno is always genuinely nice, there were quite a lot of real customers, so our assessment is incredibly positive. I must not forget to mention the organisation of the expo, because it is always great here.

Petr Nikodém, CARAVAN METROPOL

Just by the number of people who have passed through here, this expo is simply great. We have a lot of potential buyers not only from the Czech Republic, but also from the Slovak Republic, which is a little out of hand for us from Prague. Great satisfaction for us, it looks like we will sell a few pieces right at the stand and others are going to be purchased in the coming months.

Petr Šustal, MS Camper

It's great here, I like the layout, it has an atmosphere here that you don't see anywhere else. This is our third year here and we love coming back, so we are already looking forward to next year. The turnout was really good for us.

Zdeněk Klír, MEVA-TEC

The expo is remarkably successful, there are a lot of visitors. This year we presented new products and there is great interest in them. We always have a lot of people at the stand too, so we never get bored. On Saturday it was absolutely unbelievable, I would call it a tumult. We also had big sales for the whole four days, so it all fulfilled our expectations - after all, just like every year.

Oskar Přikryl, Auto Moto Přikryl

We really enjoyed the expo. I have a feeling that this year's turnout was the largest in the fifteen years we've been attending. Our display is meant for selling, and we actually did sell a lot. I always say at the end of the fair that it was the last time, because it is demanding, but I already know that we will come next time too.

Peter Melichárek, Hotovky z plechovky

We really liked it here, there are a lot of customers, visitors, and exhibitors. The entire expo is very well organised. We are very satisfied.

Petr Tesner, Caravan Centrum Pardubice

We always enjoy our time in Brno, the feedback of the entire fair is entirely positive, even though the turnout on Thursday and Friday was not what we had expected. But Saturday and Sunday totally made up for it. Next time we will definitely come back.

Jiří Gabrhelík, KRS

This year's expo was the 20th anniversary, so maybe that's why a record number of visitors came in. Saturday was really "Wenceslas", we have a lot of questions about both service and sales, so we are satisfied. And above all, people were satisfied, they saw a lot of cars and new products here. We will definitely come back next time.

Petra Čapková, KaravanTravel

We would like to thank Brno for organizing such a trade show; we were incredibly happy to participate again. People enjoy our cars, and they will surely keep coming back to us. The turnout was optimum for us, and we look forward to next year.

Hana Blažejová, MARVAN

We are downright excited, the interest of visitors surprised us a lot, basically we never paused in the whole four days. We are very happy that people like our stuff, we have had a lot of positive reactions. We hope that what we have created will be the future of built-ins and that it will spread throughout the Czech Republic and, hopefully, Europe as well.

Martin Bazala, BOXTAN

We are here for the first time, and we are excited not only about the great acclaim from customers, but also about the opportunity to meet colleagues from the industry in person. This is particularly important for our start-up company. The turnout is great, and we look forward to next year.

Martin Pavelec, Egoé

We had anticipated a lukewarm start on Thursday, but it was a normal sharp start, which continued Friday. Saturday was actually an all-day rush; we didn't even have time to eat. There were extremely many people, and I am extremely glad that there were four of us at the stand. And it's not just about the number of people, but the interest was very targeted. We also really like the Adventure Hall, separated from large motorhomes, because people who are interested in such products don't wander around the halls, they go for sure bets instead.

Miloslav Kárný, AZ SERVIS

We are extremely satisfied with the turnout this year, especially on Saturday it was really big, we were excited about how many people visited us. We hope to participate next year as well.

Aleš Marek, AUTO-BAYER, s.r.o.

We were very satisfied with the attendance because we met our internal goal. We have sold as many cars as we needed and have had very positive customer feedback.

Jaroslav Kolomazníček, Caravan plus s.r.o.

I would say that we have been successful, except that we are already rather tired; these have been successful days. Caravaning Brno is crucial for our company. It is of great benefit to us, as it is basically the only possibility where we can show what we offer as a company and show what we have. Next year, we will definitely participate in at least the same lineup.