Positive momentum

Positive momentum and strong support for the industry

CARAVAN SALON 2025 came to a highly successful close, impressively confirming its role as the world’s most important trade fair for mobile travel. With a high-caliber visitor base, international appeal and a wealth of innovations, the show provided important momentum for the future.

“We are very satisfied – 269,000 caravanning and camping enthusiasts from 80 countries in Düsseldorf is an outstanding result and represents the second-best result in the 64-year history of this trade fair. Despite a difficult economic environment, we were able to attract new visitors who came with clear purchasing intentions. The consistently positive atmosphere was particularly impressive. The passion for mobile leisure was palpable in all halls. Our exhibitors report many promising contacts and very good sales – a strong signal and a powerful show of support for the entire caravanning industry in the coming season. My sincere thanks go to all exhibitors and to our long-standing partner, the Caravaning Industry Association (CIVD),” says Marius Berlemann, Chief Operating Officer of Messe Düsseldorf.

The innovations on display reflect the industry’s innovative strength. The high level of media attention and the international audience also underline the importance of the trade fair as a central platform for the global caravanning community. “CARAVAN SALON is constantly evolving and impressively demonstrating its central importance – both as a high-caliber business platform and as an experience for the whole family. Its unique selling point is not only the variety of vehicles and products: in Düsseldorf, visitors experience the latest technology and developments in caravanning – combined with all the trend topics, innovations and visions for the future of the industry. A survey has shown that almost 40 per cent of our visitors intend to buy a recreational vehicle,” adds Berlemann.

Bernd Löher, President of the Caravanning Industry Association (CIVD), draws a positive conclusion: “With its impressive visitor numbers, CARAVAN SALON has once again confirmed its exceptional position as the most important and largest trade fair in our industry. The enormous response shows that caravanning has lost none of its appeal – on the contrary, more and more people of all ages and social classes are discovering this form of holiday for themselves. The basis for this success is the unique range and diversity that our industry offers holidaymakers. Nowhere is this more evident than here in Düsseldorf, where exhibitors have once again set new standards this year with a wealth of innovations and new products. I would like to express my special thanks to them, because their commitment is the basis for this great trade fair success.”

“But CARAVAN SALON is much more than a stage for products. It is the central platform for our entire industry,” CIVD Managing Director Daniel Onggowinarso continues.

“Caravanning is a significant growth engine for the economy and tourism and offers enormous potential, especially for many regions in Germany. In order to fully exploit this potential, we also use the trade fair to generate new impetus in dialogue with politics, science and other sectors of the economy. We were therefore particularly pleased to welcome Hendrik Wüst, Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, who saw for himself the innovative strength of our industry. Caravanning is a tourism and economic factor of strategic importance, and we in the caravanning industry will do everything in our power to continue the success story of our form of holiday.”

With more than a third of visitors attending for the first time, CARAVAN SALON once again achieved impressive figures – a clear signal of the unbroken popularity and high appeal of caravanning. “In addition to numerous newcomers who used our special ‘StarterWelt’ show to gather initial information, many experienced motorhome and caravan owners also attended with specific purchase intentions. At the same time, CARAVAN SALON confirmed its position as the industry’s most important B2B meeting place: the “Destination Future” conference series offered experts and tourist regions a unique platform for exchange, networking and shaping future developments,” says Stefan Koschke, Director of CARAVAN SALON.

At CARAVAN SALON 2025, a record number of 810 exhibitors from 41 countries presented leisure vehicles, equipment and accessories for every taste and budget in 15 halls and the outdoor area.

The majority of CARAVAN SALON exhibitors were also very satisfied:

“We look back on CARAVAN SALON with great satisfaction. The interest shown by visitors and the positive feedback from customers and trading partners show us that we are on the right track with our products. CARAVAN SALON is an important indicator for us for the coming season and offers the best conditions for presenting our broad portfolio and inspiring more people to take up this form of holiday,” sums up Wim de Pundert, CEO of Knaus Tabbert AG.

Hymer GmbH & Co. KG has given a positive assessment of CARAVAN SALON 2025 for its Hymer and Eriba brands. Christian Bauer, Chairman of the Management Board, emphasises: “We can look back on a successful trade fair appearance for our Hymer and Eriba brands. The visitor numbers and the good atmosphere confirmed the continuing fascination with camping as a form of holiday. The interest in our brands’ motorhomes, camper vans and caravans makes us confident about the new season. As the industry’s leading international trade fair, CARAVAN SALON Düsseldorf offers an ideal platform for intensive exchange with potential customers, dealers and partners.”

“In a challenging environment, CARAVAN SALON 2025 was a successful and promising start to the new season for us,” says Frank Maukel, Head of Marketing & PR from Hobby. “With our move to Hall 5, we were able to showcase our Hobby and Beachy brands even better. The presentation of the new Hobby Prestige T semi-integrated model and our caravan design study in particular generated a great deal of interest and enthusiasm among visitors and trade partners. The positive atmosphere at the stand and the many good discussions with customers and dealers also underline the high appeal of our products. Together with our strong sales network, we can look back on ten very successful days at the trade fair. We would like to thank Messe Düsseldorf for the excellent organization and the perfect platform it offers the caravanning industry every year.”

Dr Holger Siebert, Managing Director of Eura Mobil GmbH and Trigano Deutschland KG: “The turnout and atmosphere at this year’s CARAVAN SALON were phenomenal. This proves that interest in caravanning remains as strong as ever. Sales were also good. All ten Trigano Haus brands sold more than in the previous year. The Eura Mobil brand was particularly successful with its new models on Mercedes chassis, the long-distance travel model Xtura and the comfortable Integra Line GT. The changed hall layout altered the walking routes, so that regular visitors had to adjust when looking for their favourites.”

Bernd Wuschack, Managing Director of Sales, Marketing and Customer Service at the Carthago Group: “CARAVAN SALON was a successful start to the 2026 season for us. Despite the challenges faced by the trade over the last twelve months, it has been confirmed that interest in both caravanning as a form of holiday and in the Carthago and Malibu brands remains at a very high level. The excellent visitor numbers are impressive proof of this. We are very satisfied with the initial presentation of our new products. The new Malibu motorhome, the Malibu Van relax and the new generation of the Carthago chic c-line were crowd pullers right from the start. They not only met our expectations, but exceeded them. They are providing important impetus for the new season. We also consider our completely new stand design in Hall 4, which was also new for us, to be extremely positive. The interest shown by visitors and the good sales results give us and our trading partners a positive boost for the upcoming autumn business.”

“CARAVAN SALON was a real highlight for us. In Hall 15, we received a great response to our Urban Camper and panel vans. From the very first day of the trade fair, our stand was bustling with visitors – our new products generated a lot of excitement and our well-known models were also very popular. We were particularly pleased with the positive mood among visitors: conversations were characterised by anticipation of travel, a thirst for adventure and a desire for individualised holiday solutions. With many exciting contacts, concrete enquiries and successful deals, we and our trading partners can look back on a trade fair that not only met our expectations but exceeded them compared to last year. CARAVAN SALON 2025 has shown once again that the passion for mobile travel is growing – and we are actively shaping this trend,” says Thomas Siegert, Managing Director of Westfalia Mobil GmbH.

Marie Boulanger, Thetford Managing Director Europe & APAC: “The impressive number of visitors to CARAVAN SALON confirms how much Europeans love the freedom of traveling with a caravan or a motorhome. Our market remains resilient and dynamic, and this is a clear sign that our industry has exciting years ahead. At Thetford, we are proud to play our part in enhancing the travel experience for all.” Dirk Valder, Head of Product Management, adds: “CARAVAN SALON has shown that caravanning continues to be a popular form of holiday and will remain so. Such visitor numbers at the leading trade fair are a fantastic motivation and show that we are all on the right track together. We were able to hold successful discussions with business partners and end consumers and consider the trade fair a complete success.”

“CARAVAN SALON 2025 in Düsseldorf once again impressively demonstrated the appeal of this trade fair. The first weekend in particular highlighted the exceptional quality of the visitors – we were able to hold numerous discussions, place significantly more offers and achieve a noticeably higher number of sales. One highlight was the visit by Minister- President Hendrik Wüst, who took a close look at our products and the special features of our niche market. We were delighted by this recognition, which once again highlights that roof tents and tent trailers are not only a category in their own right, but also the ideal entry point into the world of caravans and motorhomes. We look back on this year’s CARAVAN SALON with great gratitude and confidence and are already looking forward to next year,” says Michael Krämer, Managing Director of Campwerk GmbH.

Dr Bernd Hartmann, Managing Director of the German Hiking Association (DWV): “The CARAVAN SALON has shown once again that hiking is inspiring – especially in the context of mobile leisure. Our quality promise, Wanderbares Deutschland (Hiking in Germany), is meeting with great interest from the public. With the newly certified quality trails and regions, we are setting standards for sustainable tourism and showing how hiking offers can be made sustainable. Digital quality assurance and climate-resilient strategies are key components of this. As a trade association, we bring expertise and concrete solutions to CARAVAN SALON – from certification events and specialist events to practical information for visitors. The fact that our topics met with such a positive response here confirms our commitment to continuing to consistently combine quality, sustainability and innovation.”

“CARAVAN SALON was a complete success for Lippe Tourism and Marketing, Teutoburg Forest Tourism and its partners. In addition to a visit from North Rhine-Westphalia’s Minister President Hendrik Wüst, we were able to hold the fiftieth meeting of the Lippe Hiking Advisory Board with the support of the trade fair and recertify numerous quality trails on stage with the German Hiking Association. The recertification of the ‘Wanderbares Deutschland’ seal was also a highlight for us and our district administrator Dr. Axel Lehman, who made a special trip to attend. In summary, we once again made more contacts with potential visitors to our region and have already decided to participate again in 2026,” says Günter Weigel, Managing Director of Lippe Tourismus & Marketing GmbH.