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Let’s Go Adelaide Caravan, Camping & Outdoor Show 2026

  • Adelaide Showground
  • 25 February - 1 March 2026
  • 24,475 attendees, down from 28,395 in 2025
The Adelaide Let’s Go Caravan, Camping & Outdoor Show delivered opportunities to engage with highly motivated attendees with a genuine intent to travel, with steady traffic over the five days, Saturday being the stand out day for traffic.

The event attracted a total of 24,475 attendees, compared with 28,395 in 2025, a decrease of approximately 13% year on year. Those in attendance were highly engaged and motivated travellers.

Daily attendance was as follows:

• Wednesday: 3,015 (2025: 3,189)
• Thursday: 3,298 (2025: 3,592)
• Friday: 3,869 (2025: 4,652)
• Saturday: 8,158 (2025: 9,092)
• Sunday: 6,144 (2025: 7,870)


Stand Performance & Visitor Engagement

Visitors demonstrated genuine intent to travel, with many actively planning trips rather than browsing. Engagement levels were particularly strong among older travellers, many of whom were organising extended, multi-month trips commencing from April and into the Queensland winter season.
As always, print materials played a critical role in engagement, there was a consistent and high demand for brochures and maps, with many visitors preferring physical resources over digital formats to peruse. Stock levels are carefully monitored to ensure optimum levels, a balance of having enough without running out completely.
Main stage presentations by Kylie Rixon maintained steady attendance, though crowd engagement fluctuated due to external noise and PA interruptions.
Key Travel Trends and Destination Interest
Travel Behaviour Trends
• Shift from aspirational (“dreaming”) to active trip planning
• Strong interest in longer duration travel, particularly the grey nomad demographic
• Increased focus on seasonal migration to Queensland (winter escapes)
• Preference for self-drive itineraries and regional exploration

High-Interest Destinations
• Outback & Inland Queensland
• Mount Isa, Birdsville (including races), Diamantina
• Savannah Way, Great Inland Way, Dinosaur Loop
• Charleville, Cunnamulla, Longreach, Winton
• Tropical North Queensland
• Cape York, Daintree, Mission Beach
• Atherton Tablelands, Port Douglas, Cairns, Townsville
• Coastal & South East Queensland
• Yeppoon, Rockhampton, Mackay
• Sunshine Coast, Bundaberg, Brisbane, Gold Coast

Experience Based Interest
• Questions on free camping vs commercial caravan parks (especially families)
• Wellness tourism proving popular, particularly artesian baths
• Questions on nature and marine experiences (reef, islands, snorkelling)
• Interest shown on rail journeys (Gulflander, Savannahlander)

Visitor Questions and Emerging Themes
Key enquiries centred on practical trip planning and logistics, including:
• Road conditions following recent flooding
• Queensland biosecurity regulations (fruit and vegetable restrictions)
• Family friendly travel information
• Reliable, up to date travel advice
Visitors demonstrated a need for clear, accessible planning resources to support decision making, making the DQ stand very popular.

Events Driving Interest
• Continued interest in iconic events, particularly Birdsville Races
• Growing awareness of named touring routes (e.g. Savannah Way, Dinosaur Trail)
• Daily presentations are a major contributor to experiences awareness, but require good placement to optimise audience engagement

Collateral Performance
High volume distribution across all brochure categories, visitors showed a clear preference for printed collateral, often collecting multiple publications.
Some brochures running out prior to show completion included:
o Cobbold Gorge
o Cape York
o Cassowary Coast
o Tear-off maps and branded materials
This is noted for future show stocks.

Stand Observations
Operations
• Weather (wind and storms) impacted both attendance and displays
• Temporary internet outage resolved on site
• PA announcements intermittently disrupted presentations

Overall Outcome
Despite lower attendance, the event delivered excellent quality engagement and highly motivated visitors

Key outcomes:
• Increased proportion of high intent visitors
• More in depth travel planning conversations
• Positive anecdotal feedback from exhibitors regarding show outcomes

Queensland is still positioned as the leading destination for extended touring and seasonal travel.

Opportunities for Future Shows

Visitor Engagement
• Continue to introduce events information in conversations
• Transition competition to online format
• Introduce more flexible, generic competition prizes to increase engagement

Recommendations
• Develop simple biosecurity guide for visitors
• Provide practical travel updates on current road conditions

Thank you for being a part of the Drive Queensland team:
Kylie Rixon - Sunset Tourist Park / Drive Queensland Ambassador
Gary Lane – Capricorn Enterprise
Simone Doczkal – Opera Queensland
Tony Cullen – Qantas Founders Museum
Fiona Nicholl – Drive Queensland

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Drive Queensland
Drive Queensland acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we work and live. We pay our respects to Elders both past, present and emerging; and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

© 2026 Drive Queensland. Images courtesy of Tourism and Events Queensland and Drive Queensland Partners

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