FRVTA’s Kelly is Upbeat Regarding Tampa Show Prospects – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
TAMPA, Fla. – The 2024 edition of the Florida RV SuperShow got underway today at the Florida State Fairgrounds on I-4 east of Tampa.
Sponsored by the Riverview, Fla.-based Florida RV Trade Association (FRVTA), the public portion of the show runs Wednesday through Sunday of this week, and FRVTA Executive Director Dave Kelly is optimistic regarding prospects for the Tampa Show, which has long been viewed as a barometer of the national RV retail market.
“So far so good,” Kelly said Tuesday during Industry Day when RV credentials are required for entry. “The move-in went as smooth as possible. We’ve had a lot more rain than we’ve ever had this time of year and parts of our rally field are unusable. We’ve had to readjust where we’re parking people, but everything’s gone great.”
This year’s show plays host to about 30 dealers working in the range of 100 displays. Nearly 1,400 units will be on display, and Kelly expects close to 600 to 650 campers will take part in the rally that coincides with the show.
Kelly hopes the SuperShow will follow and build on the successes of two fall shows hosted by FRVTA in late 2023.
“We had a tremendous show here in the fall with local dealers – a regional show is what we call it. We were up like 600 people over last year’s show, so the interest is there,” Kelly said. “And we had a good show in Jacksonville in October, so that is encouraging that our fall shows did so well because that’s just local. This (the SuperShow) is up and down the East Coast. It draws people from all over the place.”
He said his phone has been ringing continuously with potential show-goers asking about show hours and where to get tickets.
“We’re getting a lot of inquiries,” he said. “So I think, attendance-wise, we’re going to be tremendous. Whether sales follow, you know, it’s an election year. Interest rates are not real attractive still, although they’re talking about them coming down. The stock market has been hot and cold.”
Lower gas prices help, but Kelly said he doesn’t hear many complaints about the cost of fuel. His experience is that people will still camp, but take shorter trips.
“I’m encouraged that we’re going to have good attendance and we’re just going to keep our fingers crossed that the sales will follow,” he said.
Weather shouldn’t be an issue until possibly Friday when there’s a 40% chance of showers, but Kelly said whether that affects attendance depends on the time of day it rains.
“Is it Friday morning when we wake up? Is it in the evening after we close? If it’s raining when people wake up, their whole day is changed and they change their plans,” Kelly said. “If it’s late in the day, they’ll still come out and maybe leave early.”
Overall, again, Kelly believes conditions are lining up for a good show.
“Friday isn’t really our biggest day, anyway,” he said. “And right now, Saturday and Sunday look spectacular. No clouds. Finally, some blue sky.”
He noted that booths in the exhibition buildings – all 400 of them – are sold out and the rally is sold out as well.
“Everything’s looking good,” Kelly said. “I think it’s going to be a really good show.”
