Motorhome and Caravan Show 2026 ends at Birmingham NEC with 95,816 visitors and 350 exhibitors

The biggest annual gathering of caravans, campervans and motorhomes anywhere ended on 18 October at the Birmingham NEC, and the attendance figure landed on 21 October. The Motorhome and Caravan Show pulled 95,816 visitors across six days, against 96,149 for the 2025 edition. Organiser NCC Events said interest in leisure vehicles remains strong despite the challenging economic climate. The next edition is set for 12 to 17 October 2027.

Scale is the point here. The NEC listed the show across halls 6 to 12 and 17 to 20, about 85,000 sq m, with over 1,000 new models on display. There were 350 exhibitors. Among them, Coachman reported sales up 25 per cent on the previous year and e-bike brand MiRiDER reported a 15 per cent rise.

Why an Indian reader should care

India has the policies but not the parks. Kerala runs the most organised state programme in the country under Keravan Kerala, and in early 2026 it had roughly 13 caravans in operation, with only two caravan parks working. Planned parks at the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation properties in Bekal and at Bolgatty Palace were still under development. The state offers operators a subsidy of 15 per cent of the investment or ₹7.5 lakh per caravan, whichever is lower, and even that has not moved the fleet much.

Maharashtra went down the registration route instead. Its caravan tourism policy asks caravans and caravan parks to register with the tourism directorate, with a registration fee of ₹5,000 and renewal at ₹2,000. Parks need water, road and electricity, and can be set up on private land or on government land including MTDC guest house grounds. The vehicles themselves have to carry beds, a kitchen, a toilet, sofas and tables. Operators were promised a waiver of stamp and electricity duties and a GST refund.

What that gap means on the road

If you are planning a caravan trip out of Bengaluru, Kochi or Mumbai, the lesson from the NEC numbers is not about the vans. The British show works because there is a dense network of sites to take those 1,000 models to. In India the vehicle is the easy part and the overnight stop is the hard part. Treat every night as a booking, not an assumption. Resort car parks, agri-tourism farms, MTDC and KSTDC properties and private campsites are where you will actually sleep, and a phone call ahead is still worth more than any app.

The second lesson is about demand signals. A show that moves stock year after year gives builders a reason to invest in new models. India's caravan builders have no equivalent shop window, which is why most Indian caravans are one-off conversions rather than series products with a price list and a warranty. Until a state park network and a trade show exist together, rental remains the sane way for most Indian families to try this.

If you have driven a rented caravan this season, send the desk your overnight stops and what you paid. That data is thin in India, and member reports are the only honest source for it.

Sources

• Visitor numbers revealed for the Motorhome and Caravan Show 2026, Practical Motorhome, 21 October 2026
• Motorhome and Caravan Show, The NEC Birmingham
• Caravan Tourism Faces Infrastructure and Demand Challenges in Kerala, Modern Campground, 6 February 2026
• Maharashtra government passes caravan tourism policy, Autocar India