New | Head for the great outdoors in these stylish campervans
Campervans have never been more luxurious, or better equipped for transcontinental travel. And you might soon see more of them along the Belt and Road
Recreational vehicles seem rare in Hong Kong, but they are big in the West and increasingly visible in China. Their range, popularity and sophistication were revealed last week at the 56th Caravan Salon Dusseldorf, the world’s largest show for caravans, campervans and the larger motorhomes.
The nine-day event closed on Sunday, having drawn “more than 232,000 visitors” to 600 exhibitors, said Joachim Schafer, managing director of the show’s organisers, Messe Dusseldorf.
“Almost 60 per cent of visitors came with concrete intentions to buy”, he added, noting “a strikingly high number of delegations from the United States, Australia and the Asian region”.
The 13-hall, 214,000-square-metre show presented more than 2,100 caravans, campervans and motorhomes from 130 makers. Most of these vehicles seem irrelevant in crowded, compact Hong Kong, but they also reveal a trend in independent travel in Europe that might bring new leisure investment opportunities along old Silk Road routes. After all, Caravan Salon Dusseldorf not only draws RV makers and their suppliers, but also networks the international campsites, motor parks and travel destinations that serve them.
Fiat Professional presented the Ducato 4x4 Expedition concept and described how RVs evolved. They began in the 1920s, the marque’s van unit says, “when a few daring outdoor tourism pioneers had the idea of using a car not just as a means of transport, but also as a multi-purpose leisure vehicle”. RVs then boomed in the 1960s with the Volkswagen Type 2 and Fiat’s 238, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, it says.
