With Significant Growth in the Number of Exhibitors and Visitors, AIC 2016 Ended on A Highly Successful Note

All in CARAVANING (AIC) 2016  was held from 18-20 June in Beijing Exhibition Center with great success. The exhibition covered 30,000 square meters of indoor and outdoor space. The number of exhibitors exceeded 526, with a 78.9% growth compared to the previous year. 17,369 visitors from China and abroad visited the exhibition, 51% more than last year. "The tremendous growth in exhibitor and visitor numbers shows the industry's recognition of AIC, and also indicates that the caravaning & camping industry is gaining more attention from the whole society." said Mr. Axel Bartkus, General Manager of Messe Düsseldorf (Shanghai) Co, Ltd. Since its debut five years ago, AIC has maintained the spirit of diligency, sincerity and professionalism, and has developed steadily, while being recognized by the industry.

Mr. Liao Hongbin, General Manager of RV International (Agent of Hobby and Fendt) said, "We have seen huge demand for RV’s from the new campsites from all over China through AIC 2016. During the three day event, we gained more than ten orders every day. The newly imported Hobby Motorhome was cashed by a client onsite.”

Multi-channel media exposure attracted huge visitor traffic

A series of marketing campaigns were started 3 months before the launch of AIC 2016 to attract visitors. The keywords for marketing this year was “B2B” and “innovation”. AIC worked with over 50 media partners to promote the event including online media, magazines, newspapers, television, radio, social media, campsites and trade shows. At the same time AIC worked with online ticket booking agents to handle ticket sales and promotions to attract consumers. In the end of April and May, two events were organized by AIC organizer to engage media professionals. After experiencing RV camping by themselves, the media got to know more about this new vacation style, thus AIC got more coverage in media. In addition, the organizers made extensive use of smart phones as media channels, and created built-in visitor invitations in the popular social media app WeChat, for exhibitors to easily invite their consumers.

The pre-event marketing campaign achieved good results, on the first day of the exhibition, with the number of visitors hitting a record of 8,721. Nearly 100 media companies participated on the opening day of the exhibition, including CCTV, Beijing TV, Xinhua, People's Daily, Sina, Sohu, Netease, Tencent, Qianlong, Phoenix, China Daily, International Online, Guangming and more. Reporters were shuttling between the RV’s, busy shooting pictures and conducting interviews.

CARAVAN FINDER from Britain and AUTO BILD from Germany also sent reporters to AIC 2016, which shows the event influence is expanding beyond China. After AIC 2016, they also visited a few campsites and RV companies near Beijing to learn more about China’s huge market potential.

One day before the event, AIC welcomed a special group of guest, who drove all the way from Italy. It was a delegation of 26 RV lovers in 13 RVs. As they had to leave Beijing the next day, they decided to visit AIC 2016 before it officially opened to the public. They showed great interest in the event as well as the brands and vehicles showcased there. They expressed their hope to visit AIC again and spend more time there to learn about the RV brands and culture in China; and have more communication with RV lovers in China.

During the three day event, the exhibition space was filled with visitors discussing and business talking with exhibitors. Delegations from Korea Recreation Vehicle Industry Association and some Japanese companies also visited AIC. As Korea and Japan are also developing markets for the RV industry, they came to their neighbor China to explore business opportunities.

In addition, China Tourism Automobile and Cruise Association, Beijing Caravaning & Camping and Self-driving Tour Association, Yunnan RV Camping & Self-driving Association and other Chinese associations also organized delegations to visit AIC 2016.

Numerous business deals were made during the exhibition

Effectiveness is what AIC values most. As a trade fair, AIC sees its most important target is to help exhibitors to get new orders. There was good news of closing deals starting from the first day. Most of the RV brands got orders during the event, including RV International, Daloo, CenTech, Shunlv, Zhongyi, Tourist, Deeson, Jiangling, LiveZone and many others. According to preliminary statistics, over 200 vehicles were sold during the show as of 20th June. Over 1,000 vehicles were ordered by campsites and dealers. The “sold out” labels could be seen everywhere in the exhibition hall. Exhibitors at accessories zones also got lots of orders, and they were happy to see more RV lovers come to the exhibition to buy accessories for their own vehicles.

New vehicles launching created excitement among visitors

For RV fans, the launch of new vehicle is always exciting. During AIC 2016, those new launched brands and vehicles got lots of attention from visitors as well as media. The Australian brand MWRV entered China for the first time, while many other popular brands were present at the show; LONCEN RV by China-German technology cooperation, Iveco 4x4 chassis, Adria new RV from Brilliance Auto Group, Yutong RV with new chassis, Broadriver-horselodge purely British RV, Hymer 2016 new caravan, LMC long life RV, Tourist Iveco C-type classic RV, Chengdu Original Scenery TG460, SAIC MAXUS V80, Longtree dolphin C6, I4WD 4X4, Feishen mini trailer "droplet", to name a few. Those companies who released new vehicles have been granted "AIC Innovation Award" by the organizer.

Engaging with industry players and consumers by colorful activities

An open area was set up at Hall 12 for conferences and speeches during AIC 2016 to better engage with visitors. Activities held here include CTS & RV Suppliers Signing Ceremony, Brief Sharing Seminar on German RV Policy, Standard and Caravan Salon, Workshop on European Imported Chassis and RV Core Accessories, Showcase of Newly Launched Campsite Industry Related Products / Service, The Launch Ceremony of 2016 China Campground Experience Program - Brochure and China Campground Map 2016, Mr. Konstantin Abert's speech on Organizing RV Travel Group from Europe to China, RV Rental and RV Travel Routes Special Forum and more. All seats were taken for each of the activity. The speakers and visitors both enjoyed and benefited from the conversations.

Industry conferences and forums were held in the conference room on the second floor, including China RV Campsite Resource and Capital Match- making Meeting, National RV Dealers Breakfast Meeting, Purchase & Supply Seminar on Investment in Yunnan Campsites and more.

The RV Culture Zone gathered a lot of visitors despite being in a remote corner. The main goal of this zone was to promote RV culture amongst families. During the three day event, over 1,100 kids participated in the activity as “AIC RV Camping Boy Scouts”. The colorful drawings show their young RV dreams, and the RV theme postcards they wrote to their fathers, shows their love. These families had a good time at AIC under the theme “Father’s Day • Gratitude Season”. Dreamaker education and Carrera racing game, partners of AIC, also organized some fun games there for kids, which made the visit happy and fruitful for the whole family.

LiveZone RV has a special pavilion at AIC 2016 to showcase some classic characters, classic events, and the history of the RV in pictures, text, videos and so on. Mr. Zhang Laoye, a senior RV traveler held an autograph session in this pavilion for his second new book, "Drive to Europe", in which he gives his own practical experience of driving in a RV to Europe. It was very popular.

Appreciation for the five years of continuous support

This year’s opening dinner at AIC was a special one. It was not only a gathering to thank the exhibitors and the industry, but also a gesture of gratitude. From 2012 to 2016, from the National Agricultural Exhibition Center to the Beijing Exhibition Center; AIC has made great achievements with the continuous support from exhibitors and the industry. The companies that participated in AIC as exhibitors for five years continuously were granted the awards “Loyal Exhibitors”, including CTS, RV International, LiveZone, Junqi, CenTech, North RV, Spring RV, Beijing United, Ningbo Hongdu.

The organizations were awarded the “Best Practical Region for Camping Ground Development in the Year 2016” as they had taken the lead in the industry, including Beijing Caravaning & Camping and Self -driving Tour Association, Yunnan Caravaning & Camping and Self-driving Association, Yunnan Provincial Commission of Tourism Development, Hebei Provincial Commission of Tourism Development, Guangdong Tourism Association Caravaning & Camping Branch, Sichuan Provincial Tourism Association Self-driving Tour Branch, The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Tourist Administration, Gansu Provincial Highway Aviation Tourism Investment Group Co., Ltd., Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Management Committee, China Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and Jiangsu Provincial Self-driving Tour Association Caravaning & Camping Branch. The senior leaders from China CTS Asset Management Corporation, YASN International Exhibition Co., Ltd., China Association of Automotive Manufacturers Recreational vehicle Industry Committee, Beijing Caravaning & camping and Self-driving Tour Association, China Self-driving Tour and Camping & Caravaning Association (STCCA) of CTACA, Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, the Caravaning Industry Association, Association of German Automobile Tuners, and Messe Düsseldorf GmbH were awarded the “Outstanding Contribution Award”.

During the dinner, AIC also announced the Caravan Ambassador 2016. Ms. Fang Ling, who traveled in RV with her baby, was nominated as AIC 2016 Caravan Ambassador by judges and online voting. She will represent China RV lovers to visit the world’s largest RV exhibition - Caravan Salon DÜSSELDORF. Ms. Fang Ling, together with several other nominees went onto the stage to get the trophy.

On 20th June, the last award “My Favorite Caravan Brand” was announced. All the AIC 2016 visitors voted at the logo wall before they left the venue. Eventually, Brilliance Auto, Tourist, Zhong-ou, IVECO, Yutong, Spring RV, Loncen, SAIC MAXUS, RV International, Yasheng won the award making it a perfect ending for AIC 2016.

All in CARAVANING 2017 will continue to be held in Beijing next year in June. For more information, please visit the official website www.aicshow.com.

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