The continuing growth of the Middle East hospitality industry will be reflected when The Hotel Show, the region's leading exhibition for hotel suppliers, draws another record number of exhibitors and visitors to Dubai in its fourth year.
Launched in 2000 by event management and marketing specialists Streamline Marketing, the show has grown each year, and the region's hospitality industry can again look forward to a bigger and better showcase for their products and services at Airport Expo Dubai from May 19-21, 2003. "Billions of dollars are being invested in hotel construction and expansions in the Middle East as governments invest heavily in tourism," said Joanne Evans, director of Steamline Marketing. "Just as new hotels need a huge range of products and services, there's a constant demand for refurbishment and upgrading of existing hotels, meaning huge opportunities for suppliers." The Middle East's stature as a business hub has been boosted by an increase in conventions and exhibitions, while tourism promotion, and top international events, have added to the region's appeal to travellers. Annual international tourism is expected to increase to 69 million in 2020. Held under the patronage of General Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, UAE Minister of Defence, and Chairman of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, The Hotel Show creates a "one-stop-shop" hotel supplies opportunity for hotel owners, operators and developers. Exhibitors will include a range of manufacturers and suppliers of air conditioning, audio visual, video conferencing and sound systems, bathroom supplies and bed linen, building materials, cutlery and crockery, carpeting and curtains. Also on show will be producers of computer hardware and software, fitness, spa and pool equipment, buses, vans and limousines, landscaping services, management and reservations systems, telecommunications systems, uniforms, and dozens of other products and services vital to a hotel's day-to-day running. "Last year, The Hotel Show attracted 180 exhibitors, an increase of 50 per cent on 2001, as well as a record number of hotel trade visitors from 44 countries across the globe," said Joanne Evans. "They came from as far afield as the US, Canada, Brazil, Vietnam, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Slovakia, and Armenia, showing how far this event's reputation has now spread." The Hotel Show benefits from the influence of dmg World Media, a subsidiary of FTSE100 company The Daily Mail & General Trust, which now owns the event. The region's largest exhibition organisers give the exhibition highly specialised global support, while the continued role of Streamline Marketing as event managers means consistency for all participants. For the second year, The Hotel Show is being staged in conjunction with another DMG World Media event, The Office Exhibition, the two events being run simultaneously in adjacent exhibition halls. The Office Exhibition was launched last year in response to the increasing proliferation of large scale office developments throughout the Middle East. Fully supported by the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing and the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, The Hotel Show also has the comprehensive support of the UK's Department of Trade and Industry.