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NewsResponse to DWTC trade fairs reflects rebounding economy13.08.2010 
Dubai Events hosted by the Dubai World Trade Centre attracted more visitors in the first half of this year, an indicator that confidence in the emirate and the region is returning.
In the first six months of 2010, the DWTC hosted nearly 59 exhibitions and conferences, attracting over 630,000 visitors from around the world. This is a 12 per cent increase over the number of visitors in the same period last year. Some of the big attractions were Arab Health, Gulfood and the Dubai International Boat Show.
Helal Saeed Al Marri, Chief Executive Officer of DWTC, described the first half's performance as an indicator of the growing confidence in the market and a key contributor to Dubai's economy.
"Our venues have continued to attract the ideal profile and scale of top-tier visitors from the Middle East, North Africa, CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] and the Indian sub-continent, driving tangible returns on investment for exhibiting companies — consequently enabling our organisers to grow their shows into truly global sector leaders," he said.
The DWTC predicts that it will exceed last year's 1.2 million turnout by the end of this year. "IIR Middle East has experienced a year-on-year increase in visitor numbers of between 13 per cent and 14 per cent. In addition conference delegates at our exhibitions are up 20 per cent and exhibitor satisfaction surveys have recorded a 10 per cent improvement in approval ratings," John Hassett, Managing Director Exhibitions of IIR Middle East, told Gulf News.
Angie Mountford, general manager of International Expo-Consults, told Gulf News that their numbers have gone up compared to last year.
"We can see a marked up trend," she said. "What we are finding is that people are realising that exhibitions are one of the most accessible ways to get to their target market and that's why participation is going up," she said.
The first half of 2010 included new additions such as events related to aviation, trade and health care, drawing over 90,000 new visitors, the DWTC report said.
Commenting on the company's strategic focus, Al Marri added: "One of our key priorities as DWTC has been to steadily increase the event industry's contribution to Dubai's GDP and to play an enabling role in stimulating regional investment." Among the new shows hosted this year were shows on aerospace defence and training, the China homelife, and commercial vehicles Middle East.
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