Caravans return to Caulfield Racecourse
RV exhibitors attracted by 'half price' sites at new central Melbourne caravan showFast-growing national caravan show organiser GTR Events has announced a new flagship show at Victoria's Caulfield Racecourse.
Scheduled for July 17-19 this year, the inaugural three-day National Outdoor Living & Caravan Expo is expected to attract around 120 exhibitors and will be the first major caravan show at Caulfield Racecourse since 2014.
Caravan Industry Victoria ran the 72-year-old Victorian Caravan Supershow at the picturesque racecourse precinct for a period of 17 years, before moving its flagship show to its current venue at the Melbourne Showgrounds near Flemington Racecourse in 2015.
More affordable for exhibitors
GTR Events CEO Matt Hilton told caravancampingsales that its new central Melbourne event had already received strong interest from exhibitors, attracted by the potential for strong crowds and more affordable display costs.
The cost of a caravan display site at the new Melbourne show starts at $3360 for a 15 x 7 (105sqm) site, going up to $12,240 for a 20 x 36 (720sq.m) site.
Hilton said that's around half what an exhibitor might have pay to take part in an industry-run event, like the Victorian Supershow.
Some RV brands that are banned from exhibiting at CIV shows, for reasons including wanting to display pre-production and prototype models, are also enticed by GTR Events' 'all welcome' policy, space permitting.
Hilton said he's expecting a 20,000-strong turn-out over three days for the inaugural Melbourne National Expo. Adult entry will cost $15, or $5 less than at this year's Supershow.
Meanwhile, the Melbourne Outdoor Living & Caravan Expo held annually at the Caribbean Gardens has been moved from August this year to early-2027 (January 22-24), or "back to back" with the Geelong Outdoor Living & Caravan Expo also held in January.
Since the merger of the Outdoor Living Show and the Great Outdoor & 4×4 Expo businesses in late-2023, GTR Events has boosted its nationwide caravan show network from eight to 15 shows, and now runs Australia's largest network of caravan and camping shows under the Outdoor Living & Caravan Expo group banner.
Feeling the heat
The news of another major 'Melbourne central' caravan show at the Caulfield Racecourse is a blow for Caravan Industry Victoria, which now runs six annual RV shows including the flagship Victorian Supershow in February.
Feeling the heat, the CIV recently added a new Geelong show in early-December (only a few weeks before GTR's annual Geelong show) while the Victorian state body also recently announced a new three-day Victorian show at the Cranbourne Racecourse in May.
GTR Events also runs caravan shows in NSW, Queensland and South Australia that compete for showgoers and exhibitors with other industry body-run events, including the four RV shows run by Caravanning Queensland and another four shows run by the Caravan & Camping Industry Association NSW.
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