RIVERVIEW, Fla. -- The Florida RV SuperShow kicked off the RV Show season with a strong crowd only slightly off from last year's show and the crowds continued through the regional show schedule. The week after the SuperShow, the Fort Myers RV Show, held annually at the Lee Civic Center opened their doors.
This year’s event, the 24th annual, featured 19 dealers from along the Gulf Coast offering close to 500 units. Additionally, 100 vendors sold everything from exclusive resort camping, braking systems, jewelry, even state-of-the-art hydrogen fuel systems. Region 1 President Dan Wylie of Dream RV reports that over 12,000 interested patrons covered the civic center grounds over the four days of the show, making it another great event to begin the new year.
After a weekend off, so as not to conflict with the Super Bowl, which was played in Tampa this year, the Ocala RV Show and the West Palm Beach RV Show were held the first weekend of February.
The Ocala Show retuned for the second year to the Ocala Horse Park located just south of town. With freezing temperatures and frost on the roof of the tent most mornings, the Ocala Show brought in over 5,200 people over the four days. “This is a great location for the show,” said FRVTA Show Director Lesa Colvin, who set up the event. “Even with the cold weather, we saw very big crowds and the dealers were pleased with the sales.” The Ocala Show was only down about 400 people and most of that could be attributed to the cold weather.
The West Palm Beach Show also had cold weather, but nothing like Ocala. However, the result was an increase in attendance of close to 800 people. Just under 4,700 patrons came to the show and did more than just kick tires. “I think all the dealers were very pleased with the show,” said Joe Shirey of CJ's RV Town and regional president. “We lowered the cost of admission and had free parking this year. I think that, combined with the deals that were being offered, added up to a very successful event.”
Region 1 also staged the Third Annual Spring Clean-Out RV Show at Germain Arena in South Lee County. This event was created to reach southern Lee and Collier counties, where no RV dealers currently operate, but where lots of RV resorts and campgrounds are located. Show Chairman Chris Morse, from Eppers RV, said the event drew more than 2,800 patrons and there were lots of sales and leads generated from the show.
The next weekend was the Daytona 500 and there were no shows held again to not compete with a huge sporting/RV event. The next weekend the Central Florida RV Show was held once again at the Volusia County Fairgrounds in Deland. This was the eightth year that the show was held at the fairgrounds and yet again weather played a part.
“We had a heavy rain for a short time on opening day,” said Rob Cochran, regional president. “But the weather during the rest of the show was the best we've ever seen.” Over 5,000 people attended the event over the four days and dealers and suppliers were happy with the sales. As an added bonus, participants who set up by Wednesday morning were able to take advantage of the enormous crowds that come to the farmer's/flea market, which is also held at the fairgrounds.
The Jacksonville Show wrapped up the winter portion of the regional shows held the first weekend of March. This show has seen its share of bad weather over the years and had moved to March to try to avoid that. Well, it paid off with huge dividends this year as great weather all four days added up to a big crowd of over 4,800 people. Next year this show will move to the Jacksonville Equestrian Center located just west of town. This will allow for more space at a reduced cost to the dealers.
All-in-all, the winter regional shows brought out more than 30,000 interested RV enthusiasts to see what's new in the industry. With some show's attendance up and some slightly down, overall attendance was just about what it was last year for all the shows combined. This bodes well for a quick sales recovery once the national economic climate improves, said David Kelly, marketing director for the Florida RV Trade Association.
SOURCE: Florida RV Trade Association