What should show regulars expect this year?
Let’s first say that we realize how bored the regulars were. We saw how great the enthusiasm was at the Salon du VR de Québec, presented last October: we broke attendance records at the turnstiles, with 20,218 visitors. This is an increase of 2000 compared to March 2019.
How do you explain this enthusiasm?
People have rediscovered a taste for events, a taste for adventure. We can finally expect a return to some normality. People tell me that they are concerned about the health safety of RVs; they don’t sleep in everyone’s sheets like in a hotel. We also see that van life is an increasingly marked trend. We also see a great interest in off-road and vehicles with oversized wheels that allow you to go on an adventure off the beaten track.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ACVRQ
Sylvain Gauthier, President of the Association of Recreational Vehicle Dealers of Quebec (ACVRQ)
Visitors will therefore be able to discover a wide variety of vehicles at the show?
The range of vehicles presented goes from the tent-trailer to the motorhome to one, even several million. And we can find everything between these two poles: hybrid trailer, cargo vehicles, motorized vehicles with extensions. Several Quebec manufacturers will also be present. You should know that the market is constantly changing to better meet the needs of consumers. VR is no longer archaic as some might think!
Do you have some examples of technological developments that it will be possible to discover at the Palais des Congrès?
Vehicles follow market trends, particularly with regard to alternative energies or home automation. It is now possible to manage your brakes from your cell phone without having to adapt the vehicle using cable systems. There are amazing fifth wheel attachments! Composites are evolving to increase product quality. Everything has become friendly. Before, you had to be resourceful to have an RV. Today is different. I am thinking in particular of outdoor enthusiasts who are very spoiled with vehicles that adapt to transport canoes, bicycles, etc. Not for nothing do we see more and more recreational vehicles of all kinds in ski resort parking lots in winter.
Besides the range of vehicles on display, what awaits visitors?
There will be several exhibitors of accessories who will come to present their novelties, representatives of tourist regions who will offer circuits to discover in VR. In total, the show brings together more than 120 exhibitors. Several speakers will also take the stage to discuss various aspects relating to RV travel, safe vehicle driving or insurance issues, for example.
The Salon du VR is presented from March 2 to 5, at the Palais des congrès de Montréal