The Florida RV Trade Association (FRVTA) completed the third of five regional shows held around the state and reported that attendance numbers have been mixed.
The Fort Myers RV Show celebrated its 39th year, with this year’s event featuring 10 dealers from all along the Gulf Coast. The show moved to a new venue this year after 38 years at the Lee County Civic Center.
“The location at JetBlue Park was excellent, but it will take some time to get people used to the new location,” said FRVTA Show Coordinator Tammy Lull. Attendance was just under 6,700 people over the four days of the show. The new location and unseasonably warm weather contributed to the drop in attendance.
The Jacksonville RV MegaShow was held at the Jacksonville Equestrian Center, marking the 15th year the show has been held there. Over 7,700 people attended the show, up over 300 people from last year’s show.
“Our members really like this venue,” said Grag Stachacz, FRVTA Region 6 president. “Also the public has gotten used to coming to our shows here, so we see this as a long-term location for our shows.”
The most recent regional show, the West Palm Beach RV Show, was held Feb. 15-18 at the South Florida Fairgrounds. Horrible weather on both Saturday and Sunday hurt the show held entirely outdoors. The show still drew over 3,200 people, and the participating dealers were, for the most part, happy with the results.
“It’s not so much about how many come to the show — it’s more about buyers attending,” said State Chairman of the Board Brian Copley. “With the weather issues, I think we still did pretty good.”
The FRVTA will hold two shows in the coming weeks to wrap up a busy winter show season. The Ocala RV Show will be held Feb. 29-March 3, and the new Orlando RV Show will be held March 14-17. Updates from those shows will be coming next month. For more information, contact the FRVTA at 813-741-0488 or www.frvta.org.