Go RVing Canada is marking its 25th Anniversary in 2022 with renewed enthusiasm and optimism, partly due to the recent boost in interest and influx of new campers spurred by the pandemic.
“There has been a tremendous amount of new Canadian RVers,” Go RVing Canada President Chris Mahony told WOODALLSCM.com. “Everyone has been focused on Millennials, but it has gone way beyond that and now includes urbanites and others for whom camping was not on their radar.”
Go RVing Canada was formed in 1997 and consists of RV manufacturers, RV dealers and campground operators in the multi-billion dollar Canadian RVing industry.
While the coalition shares similarities with its U.S. counterpart — which also is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year — the Canadian organization operates separately with its goals and plans determined by the nature of its market.
Based on his market assessment, Mahony recounted several strategic initiatives his organization will focus on in the months ahead.
One is to create what he describes as “social tension” in his marketing — trigger points, so to speak — and determine how best to communicate these with his expanded audience.
Another initiative will be to develop a sustainable plan. While demand right now is historically high, Mahony said, it probably will not remain at this level. “When everything opens up and returns to normal (whatever that means), we want to make sure RVs remain top of mind,” he mentioned.
Lastly, Mahony and his team want to ensure that Go RVing Canada is the trusted resource and destination for all things RV, not just to promote the RV lifestyle but to maintain it. In the works is an ecosystem with trip planners, campground bookings, everything for the RVers.
Even though big-picture stuff was on Mahony’s mind, he drilled down to talk about one of Go RVing Canada’s upcoming themes, which is exploration.
Chris Mahony
“Canada is amazing; such a big beautiful country,” Mahony said. “We say go explore it in your RV. And to encourage this, we are producing stories to uncover these secret pockets and shooting videos throughout the summer to tell the story.”
One example of this exploration-themed content is a series Mahony labeled “Brewdocking,” which is exactly what it sounds like, a visit to the local craft brewery.
The host of Brewdocking is Jon Montgomery, a Canadian skeleton racer and television host. He won the gold medal in the men’s skeleton event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. Despite hosting “The Amazing Race Canada” television program since 2013, he is best known in Canada for his spontaneous celebration after winning the gold medal in 2010, when he was caught on camera being handed a pitcher of beer by a fan while a crowd surrounding him cheered and sang “O Canada.”
Throughout Brewdocking’s eight segments, Olympian Montgomery will talk to local communities, interview brewers, and visit local businesses. In short, he will uncover for viewers some of the secret pockets in their own backyard that are there to explore in your RV.
