Catering to the region: ITCA Dubai 2007

The International Travel Catering Association (ITCA) and the ITCA Dubai exhibition, tap into the vast potential of this industry by putting global players in touch with the key markets of the Middle East and North Africa.

Now in its second edition, ITCA Dubai 2007, formerly known as MENA Travel Catering, is set to open at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre from December 11 to 13. The exhibition is supported by Emirates Airline. As the region's only dedicated event for travel catering services, here is a closer look at what the exhibition will offer.

"DWTC is delighted to host and work with ITCA again on this exhibition to support the regional growth of the travel catering sector and its service providers. This reflects both the strategic positioning of the region in this fast-growing industry, as well as the attractiveness of Dubai as a venue for major international meetings," said Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General of Dubai World Trade Centre, organiser of the Show.

"Dubai is the perfect location for such an event as it is not only recognised as the business hub for the Middle East, but is also one of the fastest growing hubs for aviation and transport in the region.

"The increasing volume of people moving through the Middle East coupled with UAE's emergence as a central travel hub have combined to make the region vitally important for travel catering companies. I am extremely confident that ITCA Dubai 2007 will become a significant event for the travel catering trade in the coming years," he added.

According to Mr Al Marri, the event has a pre-built and distinct advantage in that the international travel industry already has a keen focus on the Middle East, and on Dubai in particular.

As such, the exhibition and conference have already attracted considerable interest and confirmed participation from key industry leaders and leading regional players. The impressive list of exhibitors includes Hobart and Gut Springenheide from Germany, Servair from France, Bestpartner World Wide Food Supply and Driessen Aerospace Group from the Netherlands, Elro-Werke and Gate Gourmet from Switzerland, Chatsford and Josco Inflight from Hong Kong, Creation Food Company from Taiwan, Chef Middle East and City Chef Catering from the UAE and John Horsfall's and Watermark Group from the UK.

Visitors to ITCA Dubai 2007 will also be able to source suppliers from 23 countries including new exhibitor participation from Bahrain, Belgium, Oman, Syria, Taiwan and Ukraine.

Peter Boos, a Canadian national, has been working as Executive Pastry Chef at Emirates In-flight Catering for the last 5 years, where he produces air catering products mainly in-house. New food ingredients and flavourings coming from Europe or the USA are important in delivering a high quality product under the time and logistic constraints eminent in the air catering industry. At ITCA Dubai 2007, Peter Boos is looking to learn, meet new suppliers and find new trends in products and services. "We are always looking to update our equipment in order to provide the best products and services to our customers. ITCA provides an ideal platform to source these new suppliers", he added.

The two day ITCA Dubai Conference from 12 - 13 December, an integral part of the event, is also expected to attract many travel industry professionals from across the region. This year's theme focuses on "The Middle East - the New Market" and will present high caliber speakers from esteemed companies such as Nestle Foodservices, ITW Envopak and many more.

"The high levels of interest and participation in the event is testament to the growth and importance of the transport and tourism sectors in Dubai and across the region. ITCA is the leading international industry body, and in partnership with them, we aim to make ITCA Dubai 2007 an event that is exciting, useful and rewarding," said Helal Al Marri.

The ITCA Dubai 2007 exhibition (11-13 December 2007) will be held alongside the ITCA Dubai 2007 conference (12-13 December 2007). The event is organised by the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), and supported by Emirates airline while the exhibition is sponsored by Meat and Livestock Australia - MLA. The event official medial partner is PAX International. For more information or to pre-register, visit our website www.itcadubai.com

The Middle East and Dubai: unprecedented growth
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), The Middle East is the fastest growing region for both passenger and cargo recording a full year growth of 15 percent and 16 percent respectively.

Middle Eastern carriers will buy over 600 new aircraft, worth more than US$63 billion, between now and 2018, according to Airbus and Boeing, and regional governments are investing some US$7.7 billion in the airports and infrastructure to support this growth.

In a series of separate but related announcements, the Egyptian Tourism Authority has confirmed plans to boost tourist numbers to 16 million by 2014, passengers to Saudi Arabia are expected to rise up by 15 percent annually, and Kuwait has reported an US$6 billion spend on upgrading the national carrier fleet and domestic airport.

Within the region, Dubai serves not only as a business hub, but is also ranked the fastest growing country for both aviation and transport. Dubai International Airport's current annual passenger growth is pegged at 16 percent. When complete, Terminal 3 at the existing Dubai International Airport will offering connections to 165 destinations, and will be used by 111 airlines

Concurrently the cruise season is set to see the Dubai port handle an additional 200,000 passenger movements between 2007 and 2008, emanating mostly from Europe and the Americas. Dubai's new cruise terminal is expected to accommodate at least 50 cruise ships, during the winter season running until April 2007.