New Geelong Caravan/Camping Expo

Geelong is set to host its first major Caravan, Camping & Outdoor Expo over the January Australia Day long weekend -- an event that would seem to be long overdue given the number of caravans and RVs that head down the Bellarine Peninsula and Great Ocean Road to the Western District each year.

To be staged at the Geelong Showgrounds from January 23-26, the Expo aims to attract 110 exhibitors in its first year, 60 per cent of them caravan and motorhome distributors and manufacturers, with the rest filled by camper trailer and general camping equipment and accessory suppliers, according to organisers BossMan Events of Melbourne.

The motivation to stage the Expo comes from the success of the Melbourne-based Caravan & Camping Supershow and the Melbourne Leisurefest staged each year in March and October respectively, the Border RV & Camping Expo at Wodonga (August) and the recent Bendigo RV & Camping Leisurefest (November).

Interestingly, the recent Bendigo show, now in its 12th year, attracted 150 exhibitors and achieved a near record crowd this year of 14,063 -- just 250 shy of its all-time record attendance in 2010.

The question as to whether there is enough money in the still-recovering post-GFC RV industry’s till for manufacturers and dealers to attend a fifth Victorian show in 12 months is something BossMan Events has canvassed with the industry and is confident about.

"We’ve done our homework," a spokesman told caravancampingsales."The feedback from the industry is that everyone has done very well out of the recent shows and want the momentum to continue."

It is believed that BossMan has signed up more than 30 major caravan manufacturers and retailers for the Expo, including four of the ‘big five’, although Jayco has yet to commit.

Certainly there are positive signs that the leisure vehicle industry is set for boom times again, with the industry manufacturing in excess of 20,000 vehicles of all types for the past four years -- figures not seen since the boom times of the early 1980s.

However an interesting statistic extrapolated by the Recreational Vehicle Manufacturing Association of Australia is that while smaller caravans have continued to be the RV of choice, the manufacture of caravans over six metres in length has grown by two per cent -- perhaps a reflection of the greater number of tow vehicles with a 3500kg braked trailer capacity now on the market.

Victoria again leads the RV way, with 131,000 annual registrations, Victoria’s caravan ‘park’ is the nation’s largest.

The Geelong Expo will be held at the Geelong Showgrounds, Carr Street, Geelong over the Australia Day weekend  January 23-26, 2014. Enquiries to: BossMan Events, 229 Lennox House, Richmond Vic 3121, Tel (03) 9421 2886 or info@bossmanevents.com.au.

Opening times will be 10am-6pm Thurs to Sat, 10am-5pm Sunday.

Costs: Adults $12, pensioner concession and senior card holders $10, family ticket $20, children under 12 free, car parking $5 per car.