The motorhome market is a key domestic market for Manawatū with 21% of our visitors looking to stay at a campsite according to DGIT. Coupled with this, 'motorhoming' has become one of the fastest growing leisure activities in New Zealand and on average, those who are self-contained spend $228 per day in region. To leverage this growing market, CEDA, in partnership with Feilding & District Promotion, took Manawatū to the March COVI Motorhome, Caravan & Outdoor SuperShow at ASB Showgrounds in Auckland to showcase Manawatū as a motorhome destination.
The COVI SuperShow is New Zealand's largest motorhome show with over 15,000 people attending this year, up 25% compared to 2020. This reflects the booming numbers of domestic tourists exploring their own backyard with world travel restrictions in place from COVID-19. SuperShow Managing Director, David Culpan, estimated that $40 million was spent at the show this year on new motorhomes and caravans and travel accessories and supplies.
Over the three day show, the Manawatū stand experienced high engagement, averaging at 500 people per day. Our main talking points were The Country Road scenic driving routes and experiences, walking tracks and cycle trails, and camping spots. Some other commonly requested information were dog friendly walks and campsites, golf courses with park-over spots, and free parking in Palmerston North city. Not only were we able to directly access a key visitor market at the show, we discovered some valuable insights to further inform our content development and marketing work to encourage more visitors to our region.
Check out a time lapse of Manawatū at the COVI SuperShow!
