A genuine success

After two years of absence, the most important event capable of uniting the themes of itinerant tourism and caravanning, the CMT exhibition was back in Stuttgart in January 2023 and attracted 265,000 visitors. There were 10 halls and 1,200 vehicles on display, which was a massive result achieved by Messe Stuttgart

CMT Stuttgart is back. After two years of absence due to the problems caused by the pandemic, in January 2023 the halls of the German trade fair, which de scribes itself as the “world’s largest consumer fair for tourism and leisure”, reopened to the public with great success: 265,000 visitors came in during the nine days it was open, 80,000 of which came on the first weekend alone. “Our expectations were greatly exceeded,” said Roland

Bleinroth, President of Messe Stuttgart. “We welcomed 265,000 visitors to the Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre. Our exhibitors were also very satisfied: the visitors not only looked at and compared the offerings, they also made purchases and placed orders. This CMT is one of the best we have ever experienced.”

The success of recreational vehicles, with almost 91,000 units registered in Germany in 2022 (the third best result ever for the German cara-

Words editorial staff van industry), was well demonstrated by the wide variety of vehicles on display, totalling around 1,200, which expanded to occupy seven of the 10 halls available. The fact that the areas dedicated to tourism and leisure had been slightly downsized did not affect the success of this part of the event, which was full of initiatives. In addition to the well-known side events – dedicated to cycling and hiking tours, golf and wellness trips, cruises and boat trips – there were many other innovations this time.

“The networking meeting entitled ‘Future Tourism’, the presentation of the ‘Sustainable Holiday Destination’ Award by TourCert, the new Award of the Corps Touristique for international understanding and the kick-off event on tourism cooperation between Baden-Württemberg and the Grand Est region proved that we are examining and also implementing future topics.” said Guido von Vacano, Executive Vice President of Messe Stuttgart. The extensive professional visitor programme was another successful fearure. Around 40 events were offered through the CMT business plat form. Whether it was the Baden-Württemberg Tourism Day, the RadRunde, the Green Caravaning Symposium, the New Mobility Design Congress or the Bus Tourism DayCMT’s special program attracted around 30,000 interested people to Stuttgart. Visitors to the trade fair appreciated the extensive programme offered. On average, visitors spent five hours at the show getting information from exhibitors and viewing the vehicles on display. Almost a quarter of them traveled more than 100 kilometers to get to Stuttgart, and 11% come from Bavaria. The interest of visitors for the tourist offers and for the products in the camping area was almost equal. The parking area for caravans and motorhomes and the additional parking spaces of the “Motel CMT” were also very popular: the fair recorded a record number of 9,667 vehicles parked overnight.

Caravanning: high demand in all sectors

CMT 2023 has been a huge success for the caravanning industry, as summarized by Hermann Pfaff, president of the Caravaning Industry Association, CIVD: “The visitors here did not just include people wanting to look at the exhibits, but also those with a genuine interest. CMT is also an important indicator for the caravaning industry at the start of the new season. Our presence went down very well with the visitors, it was a successful start to the new year!”

Matthias Euch, a member of the Executive Committee of the German Caravan Trade Association (DCHV), concurred: “It was fantastic to see how many visitors were here, we had an incredible number of initial contacts. The suppliers were delighted with the great interest shown in all areas of caravaning, in all vehicle categories and in the after-sales segment – and were able to conclude some excellent deals. We also welcomed the product innovations and digital solutions which are becoming increasingly better and making business easier.”