Leading trade fair CMT Stuttgart gets the camping year off to an innovative start
Around 1,200 caravans, motorhomes and vans as well as tents, accessories, travel destinations and new camping products attracted the camping world to CMT Stuttgart. Once again a highlight for the industry was the PiNCAMP Gala, where innovative camping entrepreneurs were honored with the coveted PiNCAMP Awards.
At the world’s largest public trade fair for vacations and camping, 1,570 exhibitors welcomed even more visitors in January than in the previous year: from January 18 to 26, 2025, around 260,000 camping and travel enthusiasts came to Stuttgart. Once again, CMT proved that it has an impact far beyond the region – around a third of visitors traveled to CMT from more than 100 kilometers away.
Self-conversion and vans – trend topics at the CMT
With one of the most striking innovations, CMT is focusing fully on the entry into caravanning. With the new subsidiary trade fair Self-Conversion from January 23 to 26, CMT once again picked up on a trend: Here, new campers found tips on self-conversion, from energy supply to vehicle insulation. Practical, affordable campervans that can be used for vacations and everyday family life also stood out. Increasing demand was also reported for used motorhomes and vans.
Digital marketing, AI and European Capital of Culture
Highlights included travel podcasts, virtual travel and marketing with social media influencers. Many camping experts we spoke to in Stuttgart are continuing to focus on digitalization, which is also progressing with PiNCAMP tools, among other things. Some camping entrepreneurs see the use of artificial intelligence as the topic of the future. Some are already using it – for example, to draft texts more efficiently or answer emails from guests. A continuing trend is also (camping) vacations close to home – for example in Chemnitz, the European Capital of Culture 2025. Together with 38 cities and municipalities in western Saxony, the cultural and industrial city offers over a thousand cultural events, democracy projects, activities, palace and castle tours and more.
Shaping change – the future of tourism
At the first Future Tourism Congress, which took place parallel to CMT, travel experts and thought leaders discussed how tourism can expand its pioneering role: ecologically, economically and socio-culturally. Many tourism professionals want to shape the future of travel responsibly, inclusively, sustainably and economically. In this way, the industry can also help to meet global challenges. Innovations, resilience to crises and consistent digitalization in operations, service and marketing play an important role in this.
The CT Award also focuses on the future
The award of the Corps Touristique (CT), the association of foreign tourist offices in Germany, honors projects that set standards with innovations. The focus is on the coexistence of cultures and mutual understanding – core themes of travel that are becoming even more important in a complex, crisis-ridden world. In 2025, the “Hiking Trail of Peace” in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Slovenia and the Museum of Religions in Bulgaria received the CT Award. Another CT Award was won by “Zeitgeist Ireland 24”: with numerous events in 100 German cities, Ireland showed a new, creative side – including with influencers and digital marketing.
