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Despite the global economic meltdown, exhibitions are expanding in scale in the Middle East, and people began to realise the benefits that conventions and expos can bring to the local tourist industry and related business service sectors.
The success of the region's external trade today is inseparable from the robust growth of its exhibition industry over the past decade.
The real-time benefits from the exhibition industry include the generation of expenditure and jobs for exhibition and other service industries and supporting sectors, including hotels, food and beverage, retail, stand design and construction, and logistics and freight forwarding.
Studies show there are 34 purpose-built exhibition venues in the Middle East providing a total indoor exhibition space of 633,206 sq m. Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have six venues each and Tehran Permanent Fairground stands as the largest indoor space venue with 120,000 sq m.
Venue expansions and new constructions are planned in five of the Middle East countries namely Iran, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE providing additional indoor exhibition space of 146,500 sq m by the year 2010.
Exhibitions have become an integral part of economic growth, observed Bahrain's Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa as he opened gulfBID, the kingdom's foremost construction and contemporary interiors event.
The Prime Minister said he was optimistic that growth momentum would be back on track in all economic sectors and noted that hosting specialised exhibitions, such as interior design and construction, was bringing added value to the national economy.
"The government has drawn up a strategy to promote the exhibition industry and cope with modern trends in developed countries," he said.
Going by numbers, in spite of the downturn, the number of exhibitors at gulfBID was up on last year, which shows the importance of this event to international companies looking to benefit from making contacts and doing business in an area where there is still a lot of business to be had.
Take for instance the deals actually signed at the exhibition.
Millions worth of deals, decisions to set up shop in Bahrain and a rise in the number of high quality visitors were the highlights of gulfBID 2009, which attracted leading manufacturers, designers and major specifiers from the region and beyond.
"Where is the recession?" asks Albert Douglas, CEO of Dubai-based Alomi Real Wood Floors, which notched up deals worth over $10 million at gulfBID 2009.
Another success story at the show is Bahrain-based Ameeri Trading, which has decided to set up a lighting poles plant in the kingdom. Poles would be manufactured under the brand Amgard.
Italy's Hepco, which has a unit in Sharjah, UAE, will, in September, set up a factory in Ras Al Khaimah to manufacture PVC pipes and fittings.
Meanwhile, the Euro Arabian Business Centre, which brings participation from Europe and the US to the various exhibitions in the Gulf under the umbrella of the Mimco Group, took part in gulfBID 2009 with some 25 European and former Soviet bloc companies under its fold.
Participants coming from East and West Europe and Ukraine showcased at the fair products ranging from water treatment systems to furniture.
Companies from East Europe, offering power plants to railway signals, hope to do good business in the region, especially as Europe is in the grip of a severe slowdown, said Khalifa Ahmed Al Mannai, chairman of Mimco.
"The strength of support we have had, in this the fourth edition of the show, shows how successful it has been for participants in the past. That is one of the reasons we continue to attract more businesses to what is now recognised globally as a key event for the industry. It has attracted even more international companies this year," said Jubran Abdulrahman, Hilal Conferences and Exhibition managing director.
This year, the show attracted national pavilions from Germany, Italy Greece, Cyprus, Turkey and China. There were 25 companies from China taking part in gulfBID 2009 and even Cyprus managed to bring nine companies.
"With trillions of dollars still being pumped into projects across the Gulf, events such as gulfBID will continue to play a key role in facilitating business between buyers and suppliers while showcasing the latest products, cutting edge technology and services from local, regional and international companies of repute," said Jubran.
What does the future hold for exhibitions?
The constant growth of the number of exhibitions, adjustment of the infrastructures and the recent tendencies to support investment, altogether anticipate a promising view for the industry future in the Middle East.
However, deficiency of qualified personnel, weak global promotion, bureaucracy and political conflicts may have their negative roles hampering the thrust.
