City Profile: Dubai Heats Up the Region

By Rachelle Crum -- Tradeshow Week, 8/29/2005

Dubai is the hottest tradeshow destination in the Middle East — and that's not because of its current 105-plus-degree temperatures.

Although the Arabian Gulf coastal city in the United Arab Emirates is relatively new to the exhibition industry — with its largest tradeshow, GITEX, turning 25 in September — Dubai already boasts six venues with roughly 1 million square feet of exhibit space combined.

The city hosted about 65 tradeshows during the first five months of the year, according to the Dubai Convention Bureau, which opened and was inducted into the Intl. Congress & Convention Assn. in 2003. According to the Middle East Media Guide, 41 exhibition organizers hold shows in the UAE, the majority in Dubai.

Kathleen Leuba, manager of promotions for the Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing's U.S. office in New York, said she has noticed that international exhibitors are "excited to discover Dubai." Because of its global appeal, Leuba added, exhibitors at Dubai-based shows "can draw attendance just based on their location."

Bernard Walsh, dmg world media Dubai managing director, said the city dominates the region's exhibition scene just as it does in most sectors. This, he said, is in part because the government of Dubai "recognizes the important part the exhibition industry plays in the ongoing commercial success story of the city."

For example, the opening ceremonies of both dmg Dubai shows Index and The Big 5 are always conducted by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, generating extensive media coverage.

"As a result of the ambition and vision of its rulers, together with oil-generated wealth, Dubai has become the commercial and tourism hub of the entire region," said Walsh.

Cherif Moujabber, president of Walpole, Mass.-based Creative Expos & Conferences, is also a fan of Dubai, calling the city "really unbelievable. The one city that is coming up and establishing itself in (the Middle East) is Dubai. It's almost uncontested." Plus, he added, "the hotels are bustling all over the place."

UFI, the Global Assn. of the Exhibition Industry, also pointed to Dubai as a top tradeshow city. Its December 2004 report on the Middle Eastern exhibition industry called the city "the most attractive exhibition place" in the region.

UFI ranked Cairo as another attractive option. However, Dubai came out on top after the UAE's 5.2-percent growth and gross domestic product per capita of $23,200 were factored in. Egypt's growth rate and per-capita GDP are much lower.

Moujabber noted that several Dubai shows have grown exponentially, including Gulfood, which he attended in February. Gulfood was forced to switch from a biennial to an annual schedule because of its bustling growth. It drew 29,100 visitors from 127 countries in 2005, said show organizer Dubai World Trade Centre, which also operates Dubai's three major exhibition centers: Dubai Intl. Exhibition Centre, Dubai Intl. Convention Centre and Airport Expo Dubai.

And Gulfood is undersized compared to GITEX, which reportedly drew 100,000 visitors last year.

Dmg Dubai shows are also doing well. This is apparent in the company's 2004 annual report, which noted, "Nowhere is the role of exhibitions more relevant to a market's growth than in Dubai, where we produce four leading tradeshows that serve a market thriving with construction and development." The report also stated that all four dmg Dubai shows — Index, The Big 5, The Hotel Show and The Office Exhibition — have seen revenue increases, including a 60-percent increase for The Hotel Show. Dmg Dubai shows represent "a significant part of dmg world media's portfolio," Walsh added.

Another show that Leuba believes has the market cornered is the Arabian Travel Market, organized by Reed Exhibitions. She attended the show during her first Dubai visit in 2004 and "was quite impressed with the level of high-quality booth design and display," Leuba said. "The booths that I saw at the show were very elaborate."

And while Reed operates the ATM show from London, the dmg Dubai shows are organized from its 7-year-old Dubai office. The opening of a Dubai location was imperative, Walsh said, because it is "one of the most rapidly developing and exciting business cities in the world. In order to foster and maintain our relationships in that (Middle Eastern) region, we need to have our people on the ground (in Dubai)."

Dmg Dubai was established following the company's acquisition of the interior design and furniture show Index (now in its 14th year) and the construction show The Big 5 (in its 27th year). The firm also runs two shows in New Delhi, India, and one in the city of Sanabis, Bahrain. Also, Walsh noted, dmg Dubai will be announcing within the next few months two new shows in Dubai and at least one new show in India.

Although the tradeshow industry in Dubai might sound like that of any other city, it is remarkably different in several ways. While Las Vegas and other desert U.S. show destinations thrive during the hot summer, Walsh noted that the Dubai centers have "a full event program throughout the year, with the exception of the very hot summer months."

Also, noted San Francisco-based dmg spokeswoman Mia Eng, Dubai uses split-shift business hours — typically from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. with a 4-hour break, and picking up again from 5 to 9 p.m. Eng visited Dubai for the first time last year when she attended The Big 5 show.

"As a North American, it was one of the most obvious regional differences: the fact that they leave for lunch at 1 p.m. and then return at 5 p.m. ready to resume business," Eng said. "There were literally crowds of people waiting to get back in (to the show) at 5 p.m."

Walsh agreed that it was an intriguing lifestyle. "There cannot be many places in the world where exhibitors and visitors can chill out on the beach, play golf or have a long leisurely lunch during a show," he said.