A total of 4,840 visitors, 3,428 of them from GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries attended this year’s show and, according to organiser International Expo Consults (IEC), 60% were senior management or top decision makers.

They came to see 182 international exhibitors representing 32 countries, including several first-timers. After the United Arab Emirates (UAE), there were more participants this year from the UK (23) than anywhere else, followed by Italy (18).

Opening hours were revised this time too, from 11am to 7pm each day. In previous years the show featured a break in the middle and a later finish. Some found this stretched the day out beyond belief, others welcomed the chance to pop back to the hotel for an hour or two by the pool! As IEC will know only too well, you can never please everyone, but maybe this show would actually work better as a two-day event. Even on the last day, there is still no early finish.

One improvement that looks likely to made for next year is the addition of some sort of conference programme. After all there’s plenty to talk about in this part of the world, with Dubai alone aiming to attract 15 million tourists by 2010, and likely to succeed if the present level of growth is sustained. With many major projects planned or already underway across the UAE and the rest of the Middle East, this should have been a very buoyant exhibition indeed. Yet as anyone who’s ever visited or exhibited before will tell you, it’s sometimes hard to pick that feeling up straight away from the show floor.

“Unlike other shows there are not a lot of people, but generally they are good,” noted Alexandre Ramos of Play Mart from Italy.

“The market here is in the hands of a few big groups, so you just need a few contacts,” highlighted Elena Munari of IE Park. “It seems this year we also got an opening to Syria and Iran, which were traditionally hard to break. Before they bought locally-made rides, now they are looking for improvements.”

“The Middle East is moving again after two to three years of us holding our breath, we all hope it will last,” said Giancarlo Belotti of bumper car specialist C&S.

“We were definitely busier than before,” agreed Lino Ferretti of Preston & Barbieri. “There are many projects coming over the next two to three years. I think the Splash Battle is very interesting for this area and we’ve had huge interest in it.”

For Rainbow Productions from London, “2007 was our first year at DEAL and from what we’ve seen so far we’ve been impressed with the number of serious enquiries generated from our exhibition stand,” said the costume character company’s Helen Ede. “We are now quoting on a number of exciting potential projects.”

Another first-timer was Bombay Amusement Rides. “There are more people than I was expecting,” said Pradeep Sharma. “Business is good, we’ve had a few serious clients.”

Yet while everyone agreed they had to be there – and most of the big names were – few were taking any chances over the amount of resources they committed to the show. A small booth accompanied by just one or two staff was common.

As one of the few companies with working rides on its stand, Moser Rides/Entertainment was feeling the benefit. “When you have material here you attract a lot of attention,” smiled Alfeo Moser, presenting both an Extraordinary Bike and a Spring Ride.

One of the larger stands came from the SBF/Visa Group, which like several Italian manufacturers does decent business supplying family rides and attractions to the region’s many malls and shopping centres. “Personally I am not enthusiastic about any show,” said Beat J Frei, “but it is up to standard this year. You have to offer the total solution – big rides, small rides, design, theming, installation and operation. We are working on several projects at the moment.”

The mother of all UAE projects, surely, is Dubailand, where Attractions & Experience World alone, comprising multiple theme parks, accounts for US$3 billion. Yet some suppliers expressed their continuing frustration with the pace at which the overall project is moving.

“If you are pinning your hopes only on Dubailand, I think you will be disappointed,” remarked Olaf Mordelt of Heimo Animated Attractions. “Things may happen, they may not.”

Speculation was rife at the show that a major announcement would be made soon with regards to Dubailand, and just days later so it was confirmed that Universal is to develop a Studios park and other attractions as part of the resort. The presence at DEAL of the Natural History Museum from London, which is collaborating on the Jurassic-themed Restless Planet attraction, was a reminder of some of the other Dubailand components also due to take shape.

“I think a lot of people now are getting hot to the Formula 1 and Atlantis projects,” noted Gerard Slenders from Zierer in Germany, which was due to install a family coaster in Kuwait immediately after the show.

Those stopping on in Dubai after DEAL could if they wanted to go get a first hand impression of the world’s appetite for the region’s attractions by visiting the 14th Arabian Travel Market, which took place at the same venue from May 1 to 4. There tour operators from across the globe came to see what was on offer from over 2,000 airlines, cruise operators, tourist attractions and other sectors of the leisure industry. DEAL, meanwhile, returns to the Dubai World Trade Centre from April 20 to 22, 2008.

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend