Luxury caravans and mattresses in the trunk of the car. The popularity of independent travel on four wheels continues to grow.

Travelling with motorhomes is becoming increasingly popular in the Czech Republic. The long-standing trend of increasing popularity of this hobby continues, regardless of external influences, and you will see more and more travellers on their journeys here and abroad who stay overnight in their own car or trailer.

And we're not just talking about the growth in sales of factory motorhomes and caravans, although this segment is also doing very well. In fact, the group of fans of camper vans, motorhomes and various multifunctional solutions for camping and sleeping in cars is also growing extremely fast.

Social media groups dedicated to this hobby in the Czech Republic alone already have hundreds of thousands of members, and there is no shortage of tips for trips and places to sleep, but above all, all sorts of instructions, DIY gadgets and advice on where to have your motorhome made or how to assemble it at home as cheaply as possible. 

The community here is extremely diverse - from fishermen looking for a means to spend the occasional unpretentious night by the water, to fans of comfortable travel in quality European campsites, to adventurers who live in their vehicle for months or years on the road on several continents.

Covid didn't start anything, but he temporarily accelerated

The oft-repeated claim that the covid period is behind the rise of caravanists, and that the pandemic is at the beginning of this trend, is not valid either. "Certainly caravanners were more visible during the covid, because it was not possible to travel by other means for some time, but the mass development of caravanning started much earlier. It is true that during the pandemic, sales were double the average figures, but that only lasted for about two seasons," says Jan Bordovský, who adds that the pandemic was behind the current situation.

However, the expected drop in sales did not come, the values have only returned to the growth curve of previous years. The 2023 season, for example, was the third strongest in history in terms of sales, and this year is looking very good so far.

The customer mix has changed significantly

The rapid evolution of the market has brought about a number of changes in customer behaviour and composition. Manufacturers must now be able to attract and meet the requirements of a much wider range of customers than was previously common.
The growing segments in recent years have included well-equipped cars from premium brands, off-road or expedition models for the more adventurous traveller and smaller family models for younger customers. And each of these target groups needs a different people approach and a different model offering, which is not an easy situation for dealers.

Caravaning Brno successfully responded to new trends

Caravaning Brno, the largest Czech caravan trade fair, celebrated its 20th anniversary last year and with a number of innovations it has taken the whole event to a new level. "By opening a new exhibition hall focused on adventure and off-road travel, we managed to attract a whole new group of visitors to the fair who would not have come to see traditional motorhomes," says Simona Křečková, the fair manager.

Three exhibition halls, each with a different mix of exhibitors, offer a very clear breakdown of the fair and an offer for all those interested in this style of travel. While the largest hall, Hall P, will be filled to capacity with traditional motorhome, van and caravan models, the neighbouring Hall F will host premium brands and models for the discerning customer.  The newly added Hall V will bring the diversity of the Czech caravanning environment to its full potential, offering many new Czech manufacturers of individual caravans, suppliers of motorhomes, removable camping boxes, outdoor clothing and similar equipment. It will also be accompanied for the first time by a newly designed section dedicated to tourism, where visitors can take away travel and destination inspiration.

A caravanning festival with everything. And families will be delighted too

Visitors last year were also treated to a newly built accompanying programme, which targeted all types of visitors on two separate stages and featured expert, educational and entertaining travel presentations. "The accompanying programme has always been a strong part of the fair because it allows visitors to pick up a lot of practical advice, tips and inspiration for their travels and to meet the travel community in person, which is not possible anywhere else during the year," adds Jan Bordovský, who co-organises the programme. "Since last year, when we launched essentially two separate programmes - each aimed at a different spectrum of visitors - the fair has become a true travel festival. And we will continue this trend this year."

"We were slightly concerned about whether we would be able to maintain the high bar set in the previous edition, but I believe that this year we have gone even further in many ways and visitors will not be disappointed. On my behalf, I can advise them to set aside enough time for the fair," says Simona Křečková.

She adds that one big novelty this year will delight families with children. "This year we will newly offer visitors a children's corner with babysitting. Parents can safely leave their children here for a while and walk through the fair without them." This is another service that brings the fair closer to the best European caravan events.

Travel celebrities, caravan podcast and fun talks

Again this year, visitors can look forward to two separate stages with a programme on all days of the fair. It is no longer the case that the most interesting topics and personalities were always given space on Saturday, which used to be the main trade fair day. 

"Now the fair must really be seen as a four-day festival, where a full programme runs throughout and the visitor has to choose. There are no blank spots in the programme this year," says Jan Bordovský.

The programme for visitors this year will be diversified by many well-known personalities, such as Josef Vrtal alias Fotr na tripu, actors Pavel Liška, Jan Révai or Vanda Hybnerová, Czech-Polish priest Zbigniew Czendlik or traveller Marek Slobodník. Guests will see these personalities on stage during interesting lectures and travel talks.

For the first time, the Studio Karavan podcast, which brings its listeners regular episodes about travelling with motorhomes, will also be filmed live at the fair. The podcast with interesting guests will be part of the accompanying programme and the audience will also be given space.

A large part of the programme will be devoted to various travellers who will present their lectures, photos and videos from literally all corners of the world, as well as practical advice from experts on caravan technology, driving safety, camping and travel inspiration.