/ Albeit with a slight decline in attendance, DEAL EXPO held in Dubai in March confirmed its position as the leading TRADE SHOW in the sector in the Gulf countries /

With the United Arab Emirates and now also Saudi Arabia leading the way, and Qatar, Oman and the others close behind, the Gulf nations continue to be a very interesting market for the leisure sector. Favourable factors include their high GDP and very high growth rates, a population (about 60 million people in total) that tends to be young and well-off, and above all the after-oil economic diversification strategy, which has led them to welcome and attract investments in major projects in the fields of infrastructure and international tourism, with positive consequences for the parks and rides industry.

DEAL 2022, the region’s leading leisure trade show, held at the end of March in Dubai after an almost 3-year hiatus due to the pandemic, mirrored this favourable climate. Around 300 (direct and indirect) exhibitors from over 35 countries took part in the event, as well as visitors from around 100 countries (GCC and the Middle East, and to a much lesser extent Australia, Europe, the Americas and Africa). Attendance was probably lower than before the pandemic – and this was to be expected given the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict and travel restrictions still in place in some countries – but the show did not seem to suffer, as confirmed the exhibitors interviewed, with the visitors present being qualified and interested buyers (as they have always been in the history of the event). “Despite the pandemic and global political environment, DEAL once again delivered another success story.  We are delighted to receive a highly positive feedback post the show. We also saw several trade visitors from countries across the globe who want to exhibit on the 29th edition of our show in 2023,” stated Sharif Rahman, CEO of International EXPO Consults, organisers of the DEAL show.

And as proof of the fact that…

Continue reading Games & Parks Industry May 2022, page 30

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