Excitement for the 2020 Outdoor Hospitality Conference and Expo (OHCE) continues to build, with a record number of attendees registering in the past week, according to the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC).
ARVC’s Hosted Buyer Program is also seeing a surge in interest, with more than 500 one-on-one meetings between attendees and vendors already scheduled.
More than 410 attendees have registered for the virtual OHCE2020 since registration opened in late July, with 175 attendees registering in the past week. That puts ARVC on a similar pace to last year’s record-setting OHCE2019 in Knoxville, Tenn., and ahead of registration pace for the 2018 event in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Like OHCE2019, which attracted a modern attendance record with more than 1,200 attendees, OHCE2020 has seen significant growth in registrations once the campground season wound down for parks across the country.
The close of the season was pushed back in most areas this year due to changes in camper behavior in response the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning many park owners and operators saw parks occupied through the Columbus Day holiday weekend.
“We thought we’d see an uptick in registration in the final six weeks run up to OHCE2020, but the past week is by far the most registrations we’ve ever had in a week, even topping last year’s record push,” stated Paula Horwitz, ARVC executive director of education and events. “We knew this virtual event offered amazing value and excitement; we just needed the members of our industry to actually have the time to check it out and get signed up. With this crazy fall season finally slowing down a little, we saw them jump at the opportunity to attend.”
