Caravan Magazine Easter Escapes | May 2019 | Caravan Magazine Back Issue

Well, that’s another NEC Caravan Show week over. While they are pretty exhausting, it’s always great to catch up with our friends in the industry, and to see the passionate buzz that these biannual events create around our amazing hobby.
This year’s show felt nicely busy on all the days I was there, and there was an air of optimism, which I thought might have been missing due to the current Brexit shenanigans.
The industry seems to be predicting a drop in caravan sales, flat motorhome sales, but growth in campervans. With the cheapest motorhome costing at least double what an equivalent caravan costs, what does that say about our economy?
Well, for one it suggests that many people still have money to spend – and more of us are spending it on experiences, rather than another flat-screen telly or other consumer goods. We’re doing stuff, rather than buying stuff, and that’s got to be good.
It’s reflected in research by the Caravan and Motorhome Club, Camping & Caravanning Club, and the NCC in the first-ever UK holiday park and campsite economic report. The study shows just how important our hobby is to the UK economy:
• Holiday parks and campsites generate £9.3bn in visitor expenditure
• Caravanning and camping contribute 8% of total tourism-sector value to the UK economy
• Holiday parks and campsites support 171,448 jobs
• Visitors who stayed in rented or touring accommodation, such as caravans, spent on average £557 per visit (£101 per day)
• Visitors to holiday parks and campsites stay longer and spend more than the average tourist.