RV FEATURE
“ Even though we are known as the‘ caravanning capital of Tasmania’, we know that a lot of Tasmanians who would like to look at or buy a caravan might find it difficult to come to us in Burnie, so we decided to come to them,” Coastal Caravans managing director Trent Austin, the son of the company’ s founders, said.
For a business that, pre-covid, appeared ready to be wound up – in fact, when Trent and his family arrived from the mainland about six years ago, that was their intention – it has gone from strength to strength.
Are there plans to open a yard in the Hobart area? Nothing has been decided, but Trent doesn’ t reject the idea out of hand. After all, Hobart is the gateway to the east coast of the Apple Isle, a holiday mecca for Tasmanians and mainlanders alike. In fact, as Coastal Caravans discovered, plenty of holidaymakers passed through Hobart on the opening day of the expo on their way to the east coast, noticing the expo as they passed through, and stopped in to look upon their return on the Monday.
Even the Hobart FM radio station was broadcasting live from the expo!
But what was the wash-up? Did transporting 61 new vans from the Coastal yard in Burnie to the pop-up location in Hobart pay off? The short answer is yes, with 47 vans sold, including a few secondhand caravans.
“ We didn’ t know what to expect since it’ s the fist time we have done this, but we are ecstatic with that result,” Trent said.“ The feedback was amazing, but even though we are the largest dealer in the state, there were a lot of people who didn’ t know who we were, so from a publicity perspective, it was also very successful. We want Tasmanians to know that we are also local, and that we are here to help.”
The same dates and location are already locked in for next year’ s expo, and knowing Trent and the Coastal team, I have no doubt that it will be bigger, better and even more successful. The caravan scene in Tasmania is alive and well, and Coastal Caravans is at the very heart.
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