GITEX, which will be held this week at 8-12 September at the Dubai World Trade Centre, has made a tremendous contribution to the Middle East’s ICT market since its inception 27 years ago, says the architect of this year’s mega-exhibition.
“With the support of its partners, GITEX has acted as a catalyst to attract major ICT companies to the region,” Helal Al-Marri, director of the Dubai World Trade Centre, told ArabianBusiness.com.
“Apart from the direct investment by companies that set up offices here, GITEX provides international and local technology brands with a platform to develop business and forge new relationships.”
Analysts estimate that the ICT market in Middle East and North Africa region is set to grow from $ 6.9 billion in 2003 to US$ 13.4 billion in 2008 – the third fastest growing IT market in the world after India and China.
Countries in the Gulf alone are projected to spend around AED 18.12 billion (nearly US$ 5 billion) this year, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia accounting for around 77% of the annual expenditure.
Boosting Dubai
GITEX has “helped placed Dubai on the map internationally as a leading meeting and convention hub, with all hotels in the country reaching full occupancy,’ said Al-Marri – with the UAE selling more PCs per person and having the most Internet users in the region.
“Thousands of business travellers come to Dubai to attend the exhibition, generating significant revenue – approximately 40 percent of tourism in the Middle East (US$111.76billion in 2006) can be attributed directly to meetings and events,” he said.
But the exhibition’s architect sees GITEX’s biggest contribution as being the value it adds to “the UAE’s knowledge economy by stimulating debate and showcasing innovations.”
“The students who came to earlier editions of the event have now become the leaders of many of the UAE’s most important companies,” he said.
This year’s exhibition will be focused on three distinct sectors within the ICT market – IT business solutions, telecommunications and consumer electronics – with a number of new features to the show.
Highlights of this year’s show include the inaugural Global Conference programme of seminars and the Gadget-Glam consumer technology and fashion show, al-Marri said.
Whereas the Global Conference Programme constitutes a series of seminars and networking sessions addressing the concerns of the global ICT market, Gadget Glam will showcase the latest consumer technology innovations in a very lively, creative way, Al-Marri said.
As for product launches, which many of last year’s 133,139 visitors enjoyed, al-Marri does not expect this year’s exhibition to disappoint.
“Visitors can also look forward to a host of exciting product launches, including the Middle East debut of the Apple iPhone, the first-ever Arabic IP telephony solution and even the world’s first waterproof movie camera!”
This – and much more – at this year’s GITEX.
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