UAE - The organiser behind the Arabian Travel Market is claiming its new four-day format has helped fill 70 per cent of total exhibition space six months in advance of the event.
The 2011 exhibition will open on 2 May, a day earlier than this year’s event, and run until 5 May at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. According to Reed Travel Exhibitions, next year’s four-day programme also includes a dedicated consumer session. The event is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice-president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai.
Confirmed exhibition space totals 15,000sqm, a five per cent increase year-on-year. In addition, retention rates have hit an average of 63 per cent over the last three years.
“To sell 70 per cent of our exhibition space, at this stage of the marketing cycle with such consistent retention, is a testimony to the strength of our brand. It also highlights the fact that we deliver our promise, our extended business sessions are a good example of that,” said group exhibition director for Reed Travel Exhibitions,Mark Walsh.
The 2010 show attracted 2,236 exhibitors covering over 20,000sqm and more than 22,000 visitors, a 10 per cent year-on-year increase. Next year’s pre-event registration process and onsite registration will be sponsored by Rotana Hotels Management Corporation, a hotel management companies servicing the Middle East and North Africa.
Rotana chief operating officer Omer Kaddouri (pictured) said its overall objective is to strengthen its regional presence and support expansion plans for 70 properties by 2014.
