b'Officials Report Record Attendance at Arizonas Quartzsite ShowBefore the gates opened at this yearsQuartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV Show,which ran from Jan. 18-26, organizer KennyKingsaid he expected great things.Theshowex-ceededevenhisex-pectations.Markingits37thyear, the event has be-come a must-see forthe RVing communityKenny King and as it runs concurrentlydaughterKimmy with nearby rock, gem dance was way up, he said. We had greatandmineralshows, traffic. The count was up from years past.plus numerous flea markets in the little Ari- Jason said theres usually a lull midweek,zona town of Quartzsite about 125 miles but that didnt happen this year, and evenwest of Phoenix, until the very end, at three oclock on Sun-In early Januarybased on preshow ex- day, we had a lot of foot traffic.hibitor interestKing said it was shaping up King said part of the reason for the ro-to be the largest show ever. The early indi- bustattendancemighthavebeenthecators rang true. weather.But amid the record-breaking throngs of An aerial view of the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation and RV Show from 2019. Ill tell you what, I cant remember overnearly150,000thatdescendedon the past 20 years, the weather being thisQuartzsite, King noticed something different seen, and it appears to have translated into tomer attention. good, he said. I couldnt have called forthis year. a successful event for vendors and dealers. We sold a little bit of everything, but anything better. Eight out of nine days it wasA lot of young people! It was amazing! Curt Curtis, president of RV Country, with those two stood out as being a big success between 65 and 75 degrees.King said. I mean, I know Im getting older, 10 locations spanning Arizona, California, for us, Curtis said. There was a light sprinkle one day, whichbut the demographic has shifted in the last Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, said his Oneofthemore drove attendees into the big tent instead offive to 10 yearsdramatically. I never used sales were as good or better than they than650vendorson to the open flea market. But that only meantto see, I mean, scores of little kids holding havebeen.Itwasa hand was Roadmaster, the vendors located in the tent enjoyed ahands with their parents. great indicator for us, anOregon-based busy day that particular day.In recent years, industry analysts have wethink,ofhowthe manufactureroftow Generally speaking, the vendors I spokenoted an increase in the number of Millen- years going to be. bars, shock absorbers, to, about 95% or higher said it was the bestnials taking an interest in RVing. Kings ex- Curtissaidhe springs,andhitches. show yet. Great show. Great traffic, Kingperience at this years show confirmed that brought 240 units to the Eric Jason, Roadmas- said. There were a couple of losers, butobservation,whichhecharacterizedas show this year and sold tersnationalsales Eric Jason there always are. But we were just packedgood for the industry. 125.Fifth-wheelsand manager,echoed every day. We had one off-day during theIt was the biggest showby the num- Curt Curtis useddieselpushers Kings optimism. week, which any other show would give theirbersthat King and his crew have ever drewthemostcus- It was a great show. It felt like atten- left arm to have.Gary GerardWCMSome of the record number of attendees at the Florida RV SuperShow check out vendor exhibits.35th Annual Tampa Show Reports Record Attendance of 74,861The final gate attendance for the 35th great reports from dealer participants,Annual Florida RV SuperShowhas been and the manufacturers were ecstatic. Thetabulated, and the Tampa Show did in- good sales generally mean people have adeed set a record with 74,861 people hav- good outlook for the year, and thats moreing passed through the gates this year, important than sales.which is about 600 more than last years As always, the logistics of organizingrecord total. and operating an event the size of theHosted by the Florida RV Trade Asso- Tampa Show was quite an undertaking,ciation(FRVTA), the show took place Jan. and Wilson wished to credit the FRVTA15-19 at the Florida State Fairgroundsin staff of seven full-time employees andTampa and featured some 78 manufac- the army of volunteers working behindturers, 1,550 RVs, and 450 vendors on the the scenes. Wilson singled out FRVTAvenues 120 acres. MarketingDirectorDaveKelly andFRVTA Executive Director Lance Wil- ShowDirectorLisaColvin butsaid,son told Woodalls Campground Man- theres just so many people who de-agement thatwhiletheattendance serve mentioning.record is certainly welcome, hes even Wilson also credited Mother Naturemore pleased with the reports from the with favorable weather not only duringdealers,manufacturers,andvendors, most of the shows five-day runtherenearly all of whom had nothing but pos- was a brief shower the final daybut dur-itive things to say. ing the two weeks leading up to the eventYou know, when all is said and done, as well. Rain can play havoc with outsidethis show probably goes down as one of displays, he said, especially when moreour best ones ever, Wilson said. We had than 1,500 RVs need to be set up.WCM4 -March 2020 Woodalls Campground Management'