The Middle East's largest exhibition facilities

Heidi Genoist -- Tradeshow Week, 7/19/2004

The Middle East is home to dozens of fairgrounds and convention centers of varying sizes and styles. U.S. tradeshow organizers and contractors that have participated in many Middle Eastern shows agree that there is ample safe, modern space for conducting an exhibition in the region.

Jerry Kallman, director of Kallman Global Consulting, said he finds the Tehran Permanent Intl. Fair Grounds to have modern halls and function well. The Amman Intl. Motor show offers one of the safest locations. If it's a progressive management style one is looking for, Kallman recommends the Kuwait Intl. Fair Grounds. The Damascus Intl. Fair Center, meanwhile, sits at an important commercial crossroads and is home to more than 30 events a year.

But Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is the hottest place right now. The Dubai Intl. Convention Centre hosts more far-reaching shows than anybody else at the moment, according to Stephen J. Barry, Chairman and CEO of the TWI Group. "That is a very, very modern exhibition facility that does electronic, medical, manufacturing — all sorts of regional shows."