Dubai Tourism throws its weight behind TDIM 08

TDIM (Tourism Development Projects & Investment Market), to be organized by Reed Exhibitions Middle East, will take place in Dubai, January 20 to 22, 2008 at the Dubai International Exhibition & Convention Centre. DTCM is the principal authority for the planning, supervision and development of the tourism sector in Dubai.

DTCM will take up a 415 square metre stand at TDIM 08. Frederic Theux, President, Reed Exhibitions Middle East, said:

"We are very pleased that DTCM will showcase its achievements and growth plans at this show. DTCM's support and participation at the show has significantly enhanced TDIM's positioning as a premier trade show providing the right industry platform for the biggest stakeholders in the region's tourism sector."

Pointing out that the tourism sector contributed a substantial 30% of Dubai's GDP, Khalid Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Director General of DTCM, said: "If tourism's contribution to Dubai's economy needs to be sustained, the sector will require a significant flow of investments, expertise, talent and knowledge. We are keen to support initiatives such as TDIM which will be a great platform for investors and provide a boost for the region's tourism sector."

Besides DTCM, several leading public and private sector players in the region's tourism sector have confirmed participation at the show. They include Nakheel, Dubai World Central (DWC), Emirates Airlines, Falcon City of Wonders, Dubailand, Aldar Properties, Al Ain Wildlife Parks & Resorts, Al Qudra Real Estate, Al Hanoo Holdings, the Syrian Ministry of Tourism and B&G Hotels & Resorts from Egypt.

With the impressive response from the industry, TDIM is likely to take up more than 19,000 square metres of exhibit space at the Dubai International Exhibition & Convention Centre.

A recent market survey conducted by Reed Exhibitions in preparation for TDIM shows that Dhs1trillion has been committed to tourism-related projects in the GCC, expected to be completed by 2018. Of this, the UAE accounts for Dhs858bn or 85% of the total tourism project investments in the GCC.

Oman, with Dhs61bn in tourism project investments, and Qatar, with Dhs31.1bn, occupy the second and third slots among GCC countries. Bahrain (Dhs20.77bn), Saudi Arabia (16.44bn) and Kuwait (12.67bn) have also managed to attract significant investments into tourism project development. The figures exclude infrastructure costs such as power plants and transport networks.

Reed's survey has also shown that the UAE tops the GCC in terms of land area occupied by tourism projects. It has an area of 558m square meters under development for tourism projects accounting for more than 75% of the combined land area under development for tourism in the GCC.

TDIM offers an additional incentive to exhibitors as it is twinned with a programme called HICE (Hosted Investors & Corporate End-Users). The programme was conceived to facilitate direct contacts between high-end global investors and potential tourism sector projects in the wake of a market study conducted by Reed which pointed to the need for such a platform. The study estimated that about AED 1 trillion is already committed to tourism-related projects in the GCC region.

Ara Fernezian, Show Manager for TDIM, explained that HICE will be a networking platform for TDIM exhibitors and senior decision-makers from global tourism project development companies, major banks, investment houses and tourism franchisee owners who will be hosted guests at the event. The HICE programme is structured to increase investment flows from global investors into the region's tourism sector because top-end investors will have the opportunity to come face to face with leading industry and gain first-hand knowledge about the sector and projects. The exhibitors will have the rare opportunity to promote their projects directly to investors.

Noting that Abu Dhabi-based Aldar Properties, a TDIM exhibitor, and Abu Dhabi Media Company had signed a long-term agreement with Warner Bros. Entertainment last month to create a theme park, hotel and jointly-owned cinemas, Fernezian said: "By providing the right environment for networking, knowledge-sharing and leveraging business opportunity, TDIM hopes to act as a catalyst for such mega tourism project deals in the future".

"TDIM will provide an ideal marketing platform for the region's tourism destinations. It will also offer operators of globally-known tourism landmarks networking opportunities to support their expansion plans within the region," he added.