EXHIBITORS’ comments on the show were overwhelmingly positive.
“We only do two hotels shows in the world, the Hotel Show in Dubai and Hospitality Design in Las Vegas,” said Rashmi Tolentino-Singh, head of the Philippines delegation at the show.
“The Las Vegas show is about the same size, it’s pretty big, but it has mostly American companies. The Middle East market is different – Dubai is very different, with zillions of developments. In the States, it’s mainly about refurbishing every three to five years. Here, it’s more dynamic. It’s an emerging market for us. It’s exciting to be here, side by side with different countries supplying the same market.”
David Roger, group sales and marketing director with British fine china manufacturer The Dudson Group, which is represented by Haif Hospitality Furnishings in the region, said: “The Hotel Show has good quality visitors. There’s none of what the Americans call ‘tyre-kickers’ – no brochure collectors. These are serious customers. We’ve met with people from Hilton, Atlantis, Hyatt, Rotana, Meridien – we’ve been keeping them aware that we’re around for all these hotels that will open in 2007, 2008 and 2009.”