Now is a good time to acknowledge that many businesses have stepped up their game and the latest figures we will publish at OutDoor will confirm that, overall, our sector remains strong.

However, it is also probably time to admit that in the context of greater competitiveness, we all face some problematic side effects.  At the sharp end of a growing industry, everything feels a little harsher and the pressure for short-term success threatens to dominate decision making.

With this in mind, the outdoor sector will have to make a crucial decision in the next few years.  Will we allow our industry to lapse into a race to the bottom or will we choose a different path?  In my opinion, much of our industry’s success over the decades has actually been based on a race to the top.  Instead of fighting over a set market size, we have used (often our own) passion as inspiration to grow the community, and with it the demand for our products and services.

The question is, are we capable of applying this same attitude  as competition gets more fierce and commercial reality is ever at our throats?  At the EOG, we are working on that basis and will soon launch our Europe-wide #ItsGreatOutThere initiative designed to encourage more of the general public to participate in outdoor activities – we hope that you will join us in promoting this campaign as it is the first step in a longer term effort to support the future of our industry.  Of course, projects like this are only a part of a much bigger picture and one that is underpinned by a key characteristic of our industry, which is the ability to co-operate together towards a common goal.

So, I hope many of you will like me, be thinking about a race to the top, when we gather in Friedrichshafen for the OutDoor show.

Mark Held, General Secretary, EOG.

There will be a busy programme of events organised by the EOG and others during OutDoor 2015.

OutDoor – EOG events and recommendations
View the full programme here.