The Florida RV Trade Association (FRVTA) just completed the last of five regional shows held around the state and the attendance numbers have been mixed.
The Fort Myers RV Show celebrated its 39th year of providing residents of southwest Florida with the finest in RV selections, the association said. This year’s event featured 10 dealers from all along the Gulf Coast displaying the latest and greatest recreation vehicles ranging from luxury Class A motorhomes to affordable folding camping trailers. 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.
Many sales were registered by both dealers and vendors alike, as 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.
Next up was the Jacksonville RV MegaShow held again at the Jacksonville Equestrian Center. The show marked the 15th year the show was held at the Equestrian Center. Over 7,700 people attended the show over the four beautiful weather days of the show. This was up over 300 people from last year’s show.
“Our members really like this venue,” said Greg 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, FRVTA said. 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 well.”
The Ocala RV Show was held again at the Florida Horse Park just south of town. Great weather and huge crowds contributed to the successful show, FRVTA said. Just under 8,000 people attended the show and dealers were more than pleased with the results. “This is the largest regional show in terms of dealer space and having been at this facility for a number of years we’ve built quite a following,” said Show Director Patty Flanagan. “Everyone I spoke to was very happy with the results.”
The final regional show was the Orlando RV Show held in Kissimmee at Osceola Heritage Park. Being that the region hasn’t had a show in several years, the dealers decided that the first show should have free parking and admission. Dry and seasonably warm weather added to close to 5,800 people attending this first year event. Four regional dealers packed the field visible from the road which contributed to the great admission numbers. Dealers and booth exhibitors did very well, and talks are already underway to make plans for next year, FRVTA said.
The association will hold regional shows this summer and fall. For more information contact the FRVTA at 813-741-0488 or www.frvta.org.
