Middle East Exclusive organisers claim 56% growth

Gavin Lipsith

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Visitor registration to the regional duty-free show being held in Dubai are significantly stronger than the debut event last year, according to Channels Exhibitions

Visitor registration to this week's Middle East Exclusive exhibition are 56% ahead of last year's numbers, according to event organiser Channel Exhibitions. The company claimed that the show, the culmination of a three-in-one event in Dubai also including the Dubai Duty Free (DDF) Golf World Cup and the Middle East Duty free Association (MEDFA) Conference, had attracted over 100 visitors from more than 40 countries.

Channels Exhibitions managing director Justin Boutros said that he believed the event, which runs until December 1, would be sustainable given the growth of duty-free in the region. ""The strong international showing at this year's event reflects the remarkable growth in the regional business and tourism sector and the increasing international interest in the regional retail sector," he said.

Boutros' claims were backed up by German delegation chairman Udo Fenzel's statement that the German pavilion is set to more than double in size at next year's show. The German pavilion is supported by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour, and this year included 13 exhibitors from the jewellery, cosmetics, tobacco and gifts categories.

Frenzel said: "The [Middle East] cosmetics market alone is worth over Eu150m ($195m) to German companies and we are seeing annual double-digit sales growth. Middle East Exclusive in Dubai is now a key event for us to access this market. German companies like BMW have established the quality image of German products and the ministry is keen to capitalise on that reputation by supporting smaller luxury goods companies to target this market at Middle East Exclusive."

DDF managing director and newly elected MEDFA president Colm McLoughlin highlighted the region's rapid growth on the opening day of the exhibition, saying the Middle East duty-free market accounted for almost 7% of global sales and was the fastest-growing region in the market. He pointed to Dubai as an example of the region's potential, explaining that air traffic was expected to increase from 22m this year to 60m by 2010, with every extra million passengers contributing an additional $32m to DDF's annual earnings.