EP 41 - How Caravanning QLD Is Breaking The Mould

What if a caravan expo wasn't just a place to buy a van — but a full festival weekend with onsite camping, motocross shows, fireworks, live music, and food trucks? That's exactly what Caravanning Queensland is bringing to Willowbank Raceway this August, and Steve sits down with the team behind it to find out how it all came together.

Joining Steve are Ben Menzies, Business Development Manager at Caravanning Queensland, and Jason Plant, CEO of Caravanning Queensland (CTIAQ) — along with MDC's Event's Coordinator, Leah Chevis. Together they unpack the thinking behind the 2026 Let's Go Ipswich Caravan & RV Expo (28–30 August, Willowbank Raceway), why the traditional expo format needed a shake-up, and what the caravanning community stands to gain from a new kind of event.

The idea has been 8–10 years in the making — conceived before COVID and finally coming to life at a venue big enough to pull it off. 

They also dig into the broader industry picture — why younger buyers are entering the market, how caravanning stacks up as a genuine value-for-money alternative in a tough economic climate, and why events like this are one of the best ways to get new people into the lifestyle.

🎟️ Get tickets to the Let's Go Ipswich Caravan & RV Expo: https://www.caravanqld.com.au/show/2026-lets-go-ipswich-caravan-rv-expo/

🌐 Explore the full MDC range: https://www.marketdirect.com.au — Escape with Confidence

🎙️ Catch Jason Plant's previous episode (EP 36): https://www.marketdirect.com.au/mdc-podcast-season-2-episode-36/

📻 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2522398.rss

🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode — new episodes drop every Tuesday.

📍 MDC Showrooms nationwide: https://www.marketdirect.com.au/showroom-locations/

Escape with Confidence

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

260,000 registered RVs in Queensland alone. There's nearly a million across the country.

SPEAKER_04 0:06

We want everyone to use them. We wanted something we could portray as a a lifestyle event, experience the lifestyle, camp on site, and then provide an entertainment aspect as well. So we're going to have live music, we're going to have fires, we're going to have food trucks, so it's more of a festival style atmosphere. We have got to sell the dream.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 0:23

Because if you're not selling the dream, you're not going to sell the product. Come out of your campsite of a morning and you'll you'll get a friendly wave and a hello, good morning with someone having coffee. Whereas in a hotel, you're just strangers in the hallway, you barely get a grunt, let alone a hello. Don't even talk in the elevator.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

You've got people coming together that are brand new to caravaning and they're parked right next to someone who's on their third or fourth van and they're learning from their neighbour. It's things like that, and they just learn straight away from that.

SPEAKER_04 0:48

Been working very closely with Leah and one of the first to just go, yes, we're in.

SPEAKER_03 1:15

Jason Plant, welcome. And Ben Menzies. G'day. Good to have you both here, and of course, the lovely Leah. Hello. So, a bit of an interesting one today. There is uh an event coming up out at Ipswich, uh Caravan and Camping Lifestyle Show, which is absolutely different to anything you've seen. And it's an exciting concept. And Mr. Ben Menzies will be the man to tell us all about it. So before we start, Ben, tell us a little bit about what your life at Caravan in Queensland looks like.

SPEAKER_04 1:53

Okay, so my official title is uh Business Development Manager, but uh we're a small team at Caravan in Queensland, so uh I wear a lot of hats. So I look after membership, so look after all our uh valued members, dealers, service agents, accessory outlets. Um I also take care of sponsorship with us as well, so corporate sponsorship, uh, and then help the show team out with um anything that needs to be done at the shows. I do a little bit of media work, so man of many hats.

SPEAKER_03 2:21

Now, I'm very excited about this concept for Ipswich. So tell us about it. What is the plan? What can people expect, and how does it differ from what everyone's used to in this sector in terms of presenting product and accessories to the customer?

SPEAKER_04 2:39

Believe it or not, the the concept was um come up with when did we come up with that, Jace? About eight, eight to ten years ago. Yeah, yeah, it was before COVID. Yeah, so at that current time I was sitting on the board of caravan in Queens End and one of our other directors, uh Ron Stafford, uh, was thinking outside the box and how we can re uh reinvigorate shows. Um and look, we just wanted something different than your average caravan show. I mean, we still run them and we have our flagship show, but we wanted something we could portray as a lifestyle event. So we're still gonna have that core component of caravan show, but we're gonna have a stay and play aspect with entertainment attached as well. So we want one of an excuse to people to use their product, bring it out, experience the lifestyle, camp on site, and then provide an entertainment aspect as well. So the show will continue on into the evening. We're gonna have live music, we're gonna have fires, we're gonna have food trucks, so it's more of a festival style atmosphere.

SPEAKER_00 3:29

That sounds perfect.

SPEAKER_03 3:31

Absolutely works. And and we have a bit of experience with uh these kind of events, like recently we went to the meat stock, yep, and we all have our thing. Like, I will go and watch people jump motorbikes all day long, and all that sort of stuff, and to combine it is a wonderful way to, I guess, to get more people, more birds for feather, to these events. And I can tell you from experience, these kind of events, camping around similarly minded people, is where you make those friends for life, your next bunch of friends to go on a camping adventure with and and generally expand your circle and get out and do more with the products that we spend a lot of money on. What's your experience with this sort of stuff, Leah?

SPEAKER_00 4:18

I yeah, as you said, I love that kind of thing and getting together, like our our owners love anything like that. Whenever someone puts their hand up and says, Who's keen to do this? You know, yep, I'll I'm there, whatever it is. Um so it's just that, and like you said as well, it's it's the chance to use the van, the reason you bought it, and often it can just sit there just waiting for the next time, but it is an excuse to get out and be amongst like-minded people. So, yeah, we love, as you say, we love doing those things and going to meat stock, and obviously we've got the mustards and um you guys went to the the pig races, like you know, just those last minute things where it's like, hey, I'm going, who's keen? Yep, I'm in.

SPEAKER_03 4:54

And next thing you know, we've got a dozen vans and a whole heap of people and an impromptu soccer game, and it was just amazing. Now, Caravan in Queensland has been running expos for 60 odd years.

SPEAKER_04 5:06

Yeah, that's correct, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:08

Now, this is a great new look. How do you keep how do you guys keep it fresh? What do you how do you get the input to keep people interested? And of course, you want your day-to-day to be interesting and and full of new things as well. How do you do it?

SPEAKER_02 5:22

Yeah, look, we're a few different ways. I mean, we we speak to our members. We've we've got um we've got nearly 240 members across the state, and it's it's good to get feedback from them about what they would like us to deliver, um, what they're hearing from their customers, um, and also the public. You know, we we get some we get thousands of people attending our caravan shows each year, and I think it's important to to to survey them, speak to them, um, pick up anecdotal feedback from through through our members, through, through other customers about what, what the what the what the retailers, what the consumers want. And um, and you know, that's part of the reason what what what's stimulated us to to launch this new event is because of that feedback. People want more. We've been delivering expos, caravan shows for decades. Not not us, maybe Ben. We we haven't been around for 60 years. But but the um but yeah, this new type of concept. I think it's it's what people want. They want they want something different. We still want to sell caravans, and that's that's the with this new event, don't get me wrong, that's the that's the the crux of it. We want uh we want our members to be exposed to new buyers and and get new people into into the industry, but we also want those that have their products, like Ben said, to come along and use them and um and um and and experience something different.

SPEAKER_04 6:40

So I suppose the other thing too is is that the demographic of of the people buying the caravans is slowly changing as well. We I mean we're always going to have that traditional, as we call it, grey nomad sector. Yeah. Mum and dad are in that, but you know, the buyers, even from my experience in the dealership, uh, you know, they're younger. So having that festival-style atmosphere, a family-style environment, um, providing entertainment. We didn't quite touch on it. You mentioned Motocross, but we do have a Motocross show running twice daily and a special one for the Saturday night for kids, followed by a fireworks spectacular. So, you know, it's it's making it an inclusive environment for all age groups.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:15

It's it's funny that you touch on about demographics. One of the greatest shocks I ever got was I had the opportunity to go and represent a brand at of all places, Denny UteMuster. Now, I thought I knew buyer patterns and who the the market was quite well. But what I found was people were coming up and having a look at the product that had never been up close to the product, never researched it, and they're like, wow, this looks comfy, this looks pretty cool. How much is it? Oh, $25,000. Is that all? They're looking at a camper trailer which would absolutely change how they camp, who they camp with, where they go, and they couldn't believe it was half of the price that they had in their mind to see it. And that's why I'm so excited that this kind of event with the activities will draw those people out that generally have never made the inquiry and found out just how affordable and just what great products are out there for them. So that is for me a very, very enticing thing about this show. I've never been to anything quite like that.

SPEAKER_02 8:27

And I I agree, and that and that's I I want to get new people to this show that don't own a product, come along for the come along for the motocross, come along for the fireworks, and they'll just have they'll stumble across, well, they can't help but stumble across because there's going to be hundreds of products there on display. Have a look at it, but then the cat the people camping on site, I want those newbies to come in and see those people enjoying themselves, you know, staying there with friends and family, and and hopefully they'll walk away and think, look, we want to join that community because it looks it looks like fun. So it's it's that's um there's an underlying objective there. You get get the people in who have the products to sell that lifestyle to the newbies as well.

SPEAKER_03 9:05

And that's it, that's what we've got to do. We have got to sell the dream.

SPEAKER_01 9:09

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 9:09

Uh, because if you're not selling the dream, you're not gonna sell the product and you're not gonna get to share the experience with these people because they'll go rent a motel by the beach maybe twice in a year rather than get out for four weeks or or more a year in a caravan or a camper. Now you were you were on the podcast back in oh, episode 36 and you spoke about the $14 billion industry picture as a whole. How is that looking now? And what do you think customers are now looking for that might have changed given the environment we're in?

SPEAKER_02 9:50

Yeah, look, um, is it's there's no secret. It's it's quite a challenging environment we're all operating at the moment. And when I say we, not just us as a sector, the entire country. You know, there's it doesn't matter what you're what industry you're in, things uh things have tightened up a little bit. But um and as a result, we're seeing people um people are really looking for value. They're looking for value, money, value for money, they're looking for affordable holiday options. People still want a holiday, you know, even though we've seen increases in in cost of living. People still need a break, they still need to get away, they still need to experience time away with family and friends to disconnect and then reconnect with family. And that's what our industry offers. We offer such a broad range of product types. It doesn't matter what situation you're in, whether you're and if and if you are struggling or or things are a little bit tighter, we've got products to suit that budget type that will still enable you to get out and experience what this industry has to offer. And I think that's that's the key with us at the moment. Things things have shifted a little bit. It's a little bit more challenging um business-wise, but I I still I'm optimistic about the future. I still think we have a we've got a resilient industry, we've got a range of products to suit every demographic, and um I think there are still people out there looking. Well, I know there are. They're they're looking, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:08

I'd absolutely agree with that. And something that people have previously been surprised at when I've brought them up brought it up with them, is the cost-benefit analysis of owning an R V product. You buy the product, and over a period of time, you can actually work out how much per night it's cost you, and then when you're done with it, you might want to do something else, you then sell it. Now, and the entire time you own an asset. Your caravan, your camper, it's an asset. Whereas if you're heading overseas each year and spending fifteen, twenty, thirty thousand, and I I can tell you you will spend over thirty thousand dollars to take your kids to Europe. And you can uh pay off half a decent caravan with that same amount of money. So the cost benefit over that period of time, I think that's somewhere where we could in improve in our industry is to get that message across at just how economical it is. And you don't have to you don't have to pay for sites. There is so much free camping when you're traveling. And the industry and I guess rural Australia has done such an amazing job with you know the RV friendly towns and the places to stay. Do you think that is a an area that'll continue to grow widespread with more of that sort of resource available?

SPEAKER_02 12:41

Yeah, I think so. And and you're right about the messaging. I think we we need to, if we can get that message across to to potential, you know, new demographics, you know, for the cost of an overseas family holiday, you can set yourself up in a recreational vehicle that'll last you for years. Yes. Take it away every second weekend for a uh two nights away, go away for a week. You know, you it's it's so flexible. And like you said, there's so many different um opportunities in regional Queensland and and Australia to to use those products that are cost effective. Something some doesn't even cost you a cent to go and stay somewhere. So and the beauty about it too, when we're traveling through these regional areas, we're injecting money into these regional communities. So it's we're welcomed. I my family just my parents were just out in Winton and Longreach and that they said the the RVs, it's like a plague. There's so many of it out there. I mean, and they they, you know, this is what our industry does, and we've got to get that message out that um that it's it's it's value for money, it's flexible, um, there's a product for everyone, and um, and regional communities welcome you with their arms open, and there's so many great places to stay.

SPEAKER_04 13:48

Oh, totally agree. Yeah, that was gonna say that that's something that resonates quite strongly with me. I used to promote that within the dealership and get all my staff to, you know, actually inform the people that it's not just an asset, like you said, you're gonna have something that you get to keep. Um, you're gonna have something you can go away in every second weekend, like Jason said. The other thing, too, is for the new people to the industry, that there's families, like I've got a young son, it's fantastic because they disconnect. You'll find naturally you might go in a free camp, like you mentioned, and pull up beside a creek somewhere, and all of a sudden all those electronics stay inside the van. They're wanting to be outside on a pushbike or they're just doing something simple like throwing rocks in the water, and you go, wow, that's good. It's great to see them off those electronics and getting back to nature and what we all did as kids. Well, well, that's it.

SPEAKER_03 14:30

I remember when I was a kid, if you got to free range in a place like that, you'd be coming back with frogs and lizards and eels and and things like that. It was a living experience that I guess eat dirt and resist germs.

SPEAKER_04 14:49

100%. Well, we we spoke about it before as well. I mean, when you even at those free camping areas, you've always got a neighbor somewhere close. And you know, the other side of the caravanic community is you you'll come out of your campsite of a morning and you'll you'll get a friendly wave and hello, good morning with someone having coffee, whereas in a hotel you're just strangers in a hallway, you barely get a grunt, let alone hello. Don't even talk in the elevator. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:08

It it is it is a different lifestyle. And and this is this is the thing, like this event is if you don't have friends and relatives or a family legacy that's into caravanning, you can still go to this event, you will meet people, you will learn new things, you will make those friends, and you'll expand the scope of people you know and where you can go. And back to Ipswich, this is a mile of activities and stuff like that. How hard was it to organise? How much planning went into it? And do you have any surprises we haven't discussed yet?

SPEAKER_02 15:48

Ha ha. Well there's surprises. We can't divulge everything at the moment. No, no. No, look, it's it's been it's been months in the planning. We launched it back in uh February, I think it was January or February. And um a lot yeah, a lot of planning goes into your traditional type of caravan show like the one we do at the Brisbane Showgrounds, but something something with all these different elements, it takes a little bit more. And we've really tried to to focus on um not just entertainment but education as well. So you've got what we've what we've spoken about, we've got the motocross, we've got we've got kids' activities during the day, but we've also got two stages dedicated to to educating consumers on on everything from batteries and solar, annexes, awnings, um, caravan maintenance through to our van safe program, um, which is running dedicated sessions daily as well. So no matter what stage of caravanning you're you're in, there's going to be something there for everyone to pick up on. But the key too, I think, is, and you touched on it, if you're going there as a as a solo trap or as a family unit without any other friends, you'll be sitting there at a session, someone next to you, you'll meet someone next to you, have start chatting about your setup, your rigs, and you can develop new friendships and pick up ideas and tips from others there as well. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 17:05

I I have seen lifetime friendships develop real time from the activities that we've done. And how how often do we go to Birdsville or something like that? And you can just sit there and watch those friendships start and develop and then see it blossom through social media and you th you think they've been friends for years.

SPEAKER_00 17:26

It's like, oh no, we met at Big Red Bash last year, or we met at the Master last year, and we've since gone to Cape York together, or you know, it's great to hear those stories and yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:35

Yeah, that's exactly right. Like I I did some tag-alongs with customers, and from those people not knowing each other when they all met for the tag-along, they've done so many trips and events, and someone will have a birthday, and everyone will d drive halfway across the country for this person's birthday party and go camping. And and I really get that feel from what I've seen for the Ipswich show, which is that is just such an extra step to just invigorate and go forward for the customers. It it doesn't sound to me just like a a fiscal exercise. It sounds like a genuine feeling to get customers motivated and enjoying the product, which I really love. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_00 18:22

Straight away you're around like-minded people. Everyone loves to share their trips and where they've been, or they're going there and they get tips from someone else, or mods they've done on their own van, or like that's that's what brings them together, because straight away you've got that shared.

SPEAKER_04 18:36

There's a buzz, there's a buzz around this event too. I mean, it's you know, I've I've been with Caravan in Queensland uh both within the organization and outside for quite a long time. But you know, uh I think I've did 24 Brisbane caravan shows um outside working in business and then coming in. For me, even being around that long, like I'm getting excited about the show and I'm not gonna be exhibiting at it. I'm obviously gonna be helping run it. But you know, for me it's it's really good to see something different coming. I think it's a fresh change. Um we're still always gonna have those traditional show methods and and layouts, but I just think having this immersive, hands-on, interactive show is gonna be something different uh that nobody's ever seen in the country before.

SPEAKER_00 19:14

Yeah, no, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_03 19:15

I think the there is a benefit with shows organized by uh organizations such as yourself is uh the buyer safety concern. I have seen it right throughout the country, the shows that are run by the associations, there is a standard of product in terms of compliance, etc., that must be met. You do not get junk at an industry show. And Queensland does an amazing job on of that. I've really enjoyed being part of any exhibition at your shows. Do you do you find much feedback about other industries? Like how do you how do you maintain that? What are the key things you look forward, look for and expect from an exhibitor?

SPEAKER_04 20:08

Look, I suppose as part of the membership, and I I do membership and compliance, if we get a new member, um we encourage them to get on board. Obviously, we we do an inspection process, we have a look at their business and make sure they've got all the policies and procedures in place. In relation to product and compliance, um, we're very fortunate enough to work with the national body as well, and they have a team of compliance engineers. And I get to work really closely with those guys, and we would encourage the new member to bring product to show. If they're worried in any way, shape, or form, I will generally have those engineers on site before the show do a compliance and audit check. Now, look, they're not a massive team, so we can't guarantee every product is being investigated and overlooked. But the idea behind it is that uh as an industry whole, we've bought that level of compliance right up. We're down to the really small, nitty-gritty things now showing in compliance reports. Like there might be a marker lamp that's, you know, 200 mil out of place. Or so those large uh big issues we don't see happening anymore, like underrated chazes and things like that, they're all disappeared. And I suppose by attending an industry show, um, it's not a guarantee, like I said, because we can't audit every product that's there. We have hundreds and hundreds. But when they're new, or if we've got people that are not uh towing the line, we'll we'll probably investigate them a little bit harder. I think that's a great thing.

SPEAKER_03 21:21

And also I've noticed that industry shows the code of behaviour of the exhibitors is a higher standard as well. You you don't hear stories of deceptive conduct or anything like that. So to the audience, if if you are looking to buy at a show, if you've done your research, you know roughly which brands and models that you're keen on. Personally, I believe that the industry shows are the ones to buy at because you got a a ga much better guaranteed base level to start from. So And if you get out to Ipswich, you're gonna get that great base level and you're gonna have an enormously good time. I I just uh so excited. Now something we should look at, we there was a bit of a a rough patch for all Australians during COVID and I guess, you know, poor old Melbourne was locked in in their houses for 300 days, et cetera, et cetera. Now as life has normalized, do you think events like this have a role in restoring normality and and getting back into loving the lifestyle again?

SPEAKER_02 22:39

Yeah, I think so. Particularly this type of event at Epswich, because you can immerse yourself in the lifestyle. So these um we went through an extraordinary period of uh of um flux and upheaval through during COVID and after the industry boomed, then the industry tapered off again as well as as as the economy normalized. And um we're we're in a we're in a situation now where, as I mentioned before, uh the um it's things are a little bit challenging at the moment um across the economy and the and um and yet I think s shows like this and shows in general, particularly industry shows, they um they expose people to the lifestyle and to the products that you can use as part of this lifestyle. And Ipswich goes that one step further where you can see the products but then you can experience them firsthand. Bring your own product and stay on site and and even have a chat. Even if you're not staying there on site, you might meet someone who is, have a chat to them about the product they're using, why they love it. And and I think in v events like this are important in re-establishing that with consumers, you know, get out and use your products. There's so many. We've got 260,000 registered RVs in Queensland alone. There's nearly a million across the country. We want everyone to use them. Get use them as often as possible. And events like this encourage people to do that, I think. Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_03 24:02

I think I think you're right. And we we encourage people to get out there in our own way and and our our tagline is is escape with confidence. And I really think this kind of expo, let's face it, people love to show other people their caravans.

SPEAKER_02 24:22

They do.

SPEAKER_03 24:24

MDC owners are insanely welcoming to anyone that uh I was thinking about an MDC. And people are sticky bigs as well. They love looking at other people's rigs, don't they? And and I think this is probably the perfect event to get the the oil straight from the horse's mouth, the the people that are using it, the people that have owned it, the people that that have to maintain it, etc. That I think is probably one of the sharpest bits of the spear is exactly that combination for this show. Was that a consideration when you put it together?

SPEAKER_04 25:00

Oh, look, 100%. For me, for the members and the dealers, um, a lot of them have got big onus groups like yourself. Um, you're very active with them. Um, and and part of it was to be able to give a little bit back to the members too, to say, hey, we're going to put on all this entertainment. Yeah. Why don't we extend it and give you guys something for your owners groups? It gives you an excuse to get them active and and move them out as well.

SPEAKER_03 25:21

Oh, our owners groups, they're any any opportunity for uh to go camping and have a beer, they're they're there.

SPEAKER_04 25:31

Hand on heart, been working very closely with Leah and uh one of the first to just go, yes, we're in.

SPEAKER_03 25:36

Yeah. Well, how how successful have the musters been now? That's although on a much smaller scale, a similar concept. We put on a bit of live music and food and stuff. Yeah. Like, where how big is that success? How many people we're looking at for our Queensland muster now?

SPEAKER_00 25:54

Queensland we're up to probably about 190. Um which we only did three last year, but um, and now we've this year we've got five. Knowing what we did last year, it's like, okay, like let me just see what happens there. And it's just, you know, all the all the locations, even the ones we haven't done, like Perth's up to I think 160 people, and they were just like probably within the first 24 hours, majority book then, because they're like, we are so keen to be part of this. And it's like um what we're saying with with Ipswich, you've got people coming together that are brand new to caravaning, and they're parked right next to someone who's on their third or fourth van, like of this MDC or same company, and they're learning from their neighbour. It's just a quick chat. Oh, yeah, I've got that too, come and have a look. Or it's it's things like that, and they just learn straight away from that.

SPEAKER_03 26:42

Well, we experienced that um at an event I organized uh at Grafton, which was just a get-together, let's sit around, cook, burn some steaks and drink some beers and whatnot.

SPEAKER_01 26:53

Cook slash burns.

SPEAKER_03 26:55

And we had uh a lovely couple from down at Beeger who bought a secondhand MDC. Uh, long story short, I got a call one morning for some help on restarting some batteries. They'd bought it secondhand, there was some non-standard stuff. Anyway, we got it fixed, and I encouraged them to join the owners group. And then next thing, they're coming from Beager all the way up to Grafton to join us for the event. Now, they're a little elder couple in late 70s, 80s, and next thing, Banksy and and Daniel, everyone, the tools are out, the grease guns out, the screwdrivers there fixing, you know, this is an older XT17, fixing a lock and pumping grease into the bushes and this and that. And then it sort of went from one van to the next. And what was just a sit back, enjoy each other's company weekend, turned into master classes teaching people about their the di you know how to maintain their vans, how to get use out, how to change settings, etc., etc. And I truly hope that this event grows into that as well, because I I see an enormous appen potential for this to grow, because let's face it, people are gonna get invited in to look at other people's vans, they're gonna get honest appraisals of products, and you're gonna get that help your fellow camper thing, and they all talk about it. They're all gonna go away and talk about what a great time they had and their experience. So I I think there's great potential to grow this. Can the site grow much more from what you've got now?

SPEAKER_02 28:32

Yeah, it can. I mean that's that's why Willow Bank, we we chose that location um well years ago when this fur when this concept first arose, we identified that as a as a as a good location. They run CMC Rocks is held out there every year, and I think they get they have 13,000 people camping out there. So it's it's it gives us the opportunity to expand. We just got to find that right time slot in the year where we can, and um we can make noise, we can we can do things at that venue that we can't at a at a at a Brisbane show grounds, for example. Down down the track, we have the potential to to, you know, not this year, but maybe next year, build build off-road proving grounds, build um build bigger demonstration areas where we can put people behind the wheel towing products through different different scenarios and setups. So it's it gives us that flexibility to grow should the consumers want it. We'd so be up for that. And I think they will. Yeah, look, we're we're so excited about it. And it's it's it's something different. Um I think the opportunities are endless with this style of events.

SPEAKER_03 29:36

If you put a four-wheel drive proving ground out there that we can take caravans on, you're gonna need a a a shepherd's hook to get the MVC started. To get you off.

SPEAKER_04 29:47

There's a running joke uh one of the guys at the office has got, and my office is the ideas department, and I've like Jason said, the potential out there is huge. There's so many ideas we've got for it, but we're we're gonna try and build a base and then gather momentum around it and we will expand slowly.

SPEAKER_03 30:07

Getting more complaints next time. Yeah, if if people, of course, you know, the members, we all have avenues to put forward our ideas and stuff like that. Where would the the general consumer, the caravaner who's who's got an interest in this sort of thing, where would they send their feedback?

SPEAKER_02 30:26

Yeah, look, go to our website, caravanqld.com.au, and you can register feedback there. We will, at the end of each of our shows, we we send surveys out to consumers that attended. So there'll be opportunities to provide provide feedback there as well. But if you're part of an owner's group, you can always communicate back through the owners group and then Leah can contact us with feedback because we love feedback. We don't do everything, we'd like to think we do everything right and hit the nail on the head every time, but we know there's there's mistakes, there's things that you can do better, and we need that feedback because when we we want to make sure what we're delivering um hits the mark with the consumer and our member. So, yeah, we we love feedback. Go to our website, follow us on social media, you can make comments on some of the on the posts that Tommy puts out there, and yeah, plenty of opportunity for that, and we welcome it.

SPEAKER_03 31:18

So given on I'm gonna say uh given the obvious success this is going to be, where's the scope from here? You're looking to incorporate some of these ideas and and events into events in other parts of Queensland?

SPEAKER_02 31:35

Yeah, look, I think um we'll get through this one in August, and then based on the feedback that we get from that, I think certainly there's there's opportunities to look at um look at our existing events, and even even if we can't um we can't have onset on-site camping, maybe there's elements that we can we can take to some of those events to to to lift them up, give them a bit of a refresh as well. But we're always looking at opportunities for how can we how can we spread the word about this great lifestyle? And I think this type of event provides that opportunity. Get this one through first and then and then next year, who knows? We'll see what else there is.

SPEAKER_03 32:12

I can so peop see people in places like Townsville saying, give us a little bit of that up here. Um because yeah, the those that can't make it will be envious, I'm sure, once they see the content and everything coming out post-event. Yeah. With people that want to go to this show and participate, where do they start? Where do where do they go for tickets, etc.?

SPEAKER_04 32:36

Oh look, you can jump on our website. Um, so that's uh Caravan and Queensland website or uh OzTix is the platform you can head to. It'll be advertised through there as well to grab your day tickets or your camping tickets. And if you are part of an owner's group, you can always reach out because we do have several owners groups locked in currently. One of those would be ours.

SPEAKER_03 32:54

Yes, definitely. Absolutely. They're so well organised, it's it's like the MDC army at times, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 33:00

Yeah, we we've actually got our Queensland Muster the weekend after. So the um Daniel Easton, who sort of runs our owners group, he There's a pub crawl. Yeah, he's kind of done it like there's a bit of a um yeah, a a tag along to get to the muster. So it's kind of turned into like almost a you know two weeks almost events. Yeah. They've got to make the most of it. And everyone's like, yep, I'll be in for that too. Yep, I'll be in.

SPEAKER_03 33:24

And the and the pub crawl, the Queensland Outback pub crawl, something that Craig, our our um media guy and I have discussed a few times a year. Well if you guys are up for it. Support local support. The weekend after it we might be fairly burnt out. We could be, yes. We we will do it as an off-grid down under event and we'll film it and we'll um we'll do something like give each person a job, someone will rate the the sirloin, someone will rate the snitty, someone will rate the rump, and from pub to pub and until we've been to all the great stuff and hopefully get all the way out to the Birdsville pub. Yeah. So get a bit of red dirt under the tyres and that sort of thing. So we will absolutely let you know when that's happening, and hopefully you can join us because you guys will be lots of fun. Now, Leah, anything from you?

SPEAKER_00 34:20

No, I'm just really excited.

SPEAKER_03 34:21

It is gonna be a great fun event.

SPEAKER_00 34:24

I think as well, like you say, with regular caravan shows, a lot of people often just think it's somewhere you go to buy a caravan or to check out a new caravan. But as we said, there's so many other things that are there, like your educational talks and there's so many accessories now as well. And then you've got your clothing and your, you know, people bringing out their linen and cutlery and all that kind of stuff. There's so many new things to add to you, may already have the van that you love, but there's so much more into it, and then obviously Ipswitch showed is just bringing it to a whole other level with all the other stuff.

SPEAKER_03 34:57

And it's a great, great place to find solutions to problems you have. Like our caravan community, some some of us are a little bit older and might struggle with, you know, parking the caravan at home access, may need some kind of mechanical means to park it, or struggle with the the jockey wheel. And you know, I know that even at my age, some days the hands say, Oh, just we don't want to play today. So if you're trying to wind up a jockey wheel or something like that, or struggling, this is where you can go and see the vendors who have got all the solutions to your problems.

SPEAKER_04 35:33

Well, Steve, the other thing too is I guarantee you you'll you'll see it in action in the camping area. Yes. There'll be somebody that has it and go, hey, I bought this because my hands were a bit sore, I can't do it anymore. However, this is a manual one that's got a drill bit attached to it. Now I I just use my you know my cordless drill law.

SPEAKER_03 35:49

That's right. You'll pick up the tips, uh, you know, stabiliser legs. That is the one part of setting up a caravan I hate, but cordless drill with a 19mm socket, done in seconds, and I don't even have to bend my knees to do it. So for me, that's a bonus. And that's where folks at home, you will learn those sort of things and get down to the main stage and listen to the people that are presenting to you. I I'll have the opportunity to talk about caravan maintenance, but there will definitely be people there smarter than me with some great ideas that you will find helpful and enhance your experience with your own caravan. So get along. Um, these guys will be there, the NDC team will be there. There'll be so much to see and do. I I just can't wait, guys. And I thank you very much for coming in today. It's been a pleasure to talk to you. And thank you, Leah.

SPEAKER_00 36:46

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 36:47

So that's it, folks. Get down to the show at ItSwitch, the the details below, get across to the association website, Caravan in Queensland, book your tickets and set aside the time to come and have a look. If you're out at the show just having a bit of a look around, if you see me on stage, say hello afterwards. And if you've got any questions about your MDC product, be more than happy to answer it. So jump on our YouTube channel, check out some of the previous podcast episodes. So much to learn, uh, especially the episode previously with Jason. Worth checking out. And thanks for watching and look forward to seeing you at the next podcast.