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Discuss this article (9 Comments)Cityscape Dubai visitors down 50% on 2008
by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Wednesday, 14 October 2009
DOWNTURN IMPACT: Cityscape Dubai attracted 50 percent fewer visitors this year.
Visitor numbers at the post-downturn Cityscape Dubai fell by around 50 percent on the previous year, organisers said on Wednesday.
Around 38,000 people visited Dubai's premier property show over the four days earlier in October while the number of exhibitors were down from 340 to 218.
Rohan Marwaha, managing director of Cityscape Dubai, said he was not surprised by the turnout and claimed that Cityscape held up well by international standards.
"We saw a shift back to market fundamentals at Cityscape Dubai this year. The speculators and other amateur investors were conspicuous by their absence as were any hint of unrealistic or dazzling developments. The mood was sober and professional. However compared with other real estate events in Europe and Asia, Cityscape by comparison was very well supported," he said.
He added that international participation increased as a year-on-year percentage, with stands from Sudan, Angola, Paris, and companies from Canada and Australia, complemented by a healthy regional presence which extended across the GCC and Iraq.
Marwaha said the changing dynamics of the industry may well lead to further changes to Cityscape in the year ahead.
"We will continue to tailor this event to meet the requirements of real estate professionals, whether locally, regionally or internationally," he said.
With no high-profile launches that have characterised previous exhibitions, the main themes were realism and transparency as Dubai has suffered under the strain of the global economic crisis.
Property prices in the emirate have fallen by up to 50 percent from their 2008 peaks and many developers who exhibited at Cityscape believed prices still had further to fall.
The Cityscape Intelligence Focus On Dubai Report stated 472 commercial, residential and hospitality projects have been cancelled or on put on hold - but it also found the UAE retains "an extraordinary level of construction activity across all sectors and the total value of UAE projects in the study comes to around $900 billion".
Jones Lang LaSalle, which released its MENA Real Estate Investor Sentiment Survey, identified Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia as the first real estate markets to bounce back regionally "due to their strong economic fundamentals and visionary government initiatives".
READERS' COMMENTS
Disclaimer: The views expressed here by our readers are not necessarily shared by ArabianBusiness.com or its employees.
Mr. UAE - Omar
Posted by Paolo C, Verona, Italy on Saturday 17 October 2009 at 00:06 UAE time
This article is not about a comparison. It's about the fact that the interest for your country has dropped drastically. Let's be onest, it has disappeared almost completely from western countries. Why? Because the crisis has showed the real face of a community, which is not mature enough to face the task it had in mind. You cannot build a future based on a facade and on promises (which in fact are not kept). Dubai has some extraordinary things to show, but they are not build from you, engineered from you or manufactured from you. Self appraisal helps you stand up, but education and culture gets you walking alone.
Posted by Paolo C, Verona, Italy on Saturday 17 October 2009 at 00:06 UAE time
This article is not about a comparison. It's about the fact that the interest for your country has dropped drastically. Let's be onest, it has disappeared almost completely from western countries. Why? Because the crisis has showed the real face of a community, which is not mature enough to face the task it had in mind. You cannot build a future based on a facade and on promises (which in fact are not kept). Dubai has some extraordinary things to show, but they are not build from you, engineered from you or manufactured from you. Self appraisal helps you stand up, but education and culture gets you walking alone.
Amatuers?
Posted by Jonny Jones, Dubai, UAE on Thursday 15 October 2009 at 11:57 UAE time
Those amatuer investors the organiser talks about were the ones that kept Dubai afloat during its boom by buying property, with a huge amount sitting very pretty now on large cash sums made from the market. Although Cityscape claims to be a 'trade show' it never has been and any visitor who has attended will see that.....let us all hope these 'amatuer' investors return soon as it will show the market is recovering, if only all those professionals out there including Cityscape organisers and its information service had predicted the slump? Aren't they the amatuers?
Posted by Jonny Jones, Dubai, UAE on Thursday 15 October 2009 at 11:57 UAE time
Those amatuer investors the organiser talks about were the ones that kept Dubai afloat during its boom by buying property, with a huge amount sitting very pretty now on large cash sums made from the market. Although Cityscape claims to be a 'trade show' it never has been and any visitor who has attended will see that.....let us all hope these 'amatuer' investors return soon as it will show the market is recovering, if only all those professionals out there including Cityscape organisers and its information service had predicted the slump? Aren't they the amatuers?
To Omar
Posted by Jon, Dubai, UAE on Thursday 15 October 2009 at 09:24 UAE time
you know, i see your name now and just skip to the next comment. i don't bother reading your one sided drivel anymore - and I'm sure I'm not the only one..
Posted by Jon, Dubai, UAE on Thursday 15 October 2009 at 09:24 UAE time
you know, i see your name now and just skip to the next comment. i don't bother reading your one sided drivel anymore - and I'm sure I'm not the only one..
I wonder if they had offered discounts, they might have had more exhibitors
Posted by billhicks42, Dubai, UAE on Thursday 15 October 2009 at 08:14 UAE time
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/568402-no-cityscape-discounts-offered-to-emaar-nakheel---organiser
In a down market, prices should be adjusted to maintain sales.
Posted by billhicks42, Dubai, UAE on Thursday 15 October 2009 at 08:14 UAE time
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/568402-no-cityscape-discounts-offered-to-emaar-nakheel---organiser
In a down market, prices should be adjusted to maintain sales.
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