Europe shows heightened interest in Bahrain International Motor Show 2008

This was demonstrated by the number of leads generated by Bahrain Exhibition & Convention Authority (BECA) from the meetings initiated by the Authority and the quality and number of visitors who flocked to the BIMS stand at the 40th Essen Motor Show which opened 1st to the 9th December 2007. European interest to participate in the first Bahrain International Motor Show (BIMS) 2008 has so far come from Germany, UK, France, Italy, Netherlands and Spain.

Bahrain Exhibition & Convention Authority (BECA) functions under the directives of its Board of Directors, chaired by H.E. Dr. Hassan A. Fakhro, the Minister of Industry & Commerce. Aimed at promoting inbound business tourism to Bahrain, its activities are instrumental in demonstrating the value of Bahrain International Exhibition & Convention Centre (BIEC) to the overall economy of Bahrain, to the community and in generating income and new jobs for Bahrainis in the hospitality, retail and service sectors. It also operates BIEC, the largest and most flexible trade show and meeting venue in Bahrain.

BECA was part of the delegation from the Kingdom of Bahrain led by Shaikh Mohammed Bin Essa Al Khalifa, Chief Executive of the Economic Development Board (EDB) that attended the German motor show. Debbie Stanford-Kristiansen, Director - Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions (MICE); Destination Marketing & P.R. oversees the BIMS project for BECA. Other members of the project team from BECA include Ali Al-Shehabi, Senior Sales Officer / Lead Coordinator; Anas Al Amer, Senior Sales Officer, who joined Ms. Stanford-Kristiansen and Mr. Al-Shehabi in Essen; and Jassim Bahlool, Sales Officer. Gulf Air and DHL, who provided services to and addressed enquiries of visitors, were also represented on the BIMS stand.

Essen Motor Show, the world fair for automobiles, tuning, motor sports and classics, is an important event in the global automotive calendar and is organised by Messe Essen GmbH. Essen Motor Show is regarded by many in the industry as the Number One Motor Sport Fair in Germany. This year, it occupied 12 halls in the Essen Showground with over 500 exhibitors from throughout the world. Essen Motor Show's 40th anniversary fair attracted 352,800 visitors, of which 21 per cent were automotive industry professionals and enthusiastic car fans.

EuroMotors Bahrain

Despite its relatively humble size when considered on a world scale, Bahrain's new car market is emerging as an important market to global car makers as attested by the confirmation of participation by EuroMotors Bahrain in the upcoming BIMS 08.

Spectacular motor show

Organised by BECA in joint venture with Messe Essen GmbH, BIMS promises to be the largest automotive trade and consumer show of its kind in the Middle East encompassing around 17,000 square metres of exhibits when it opens in the Bahrain International Exhibition & Convention Centre (BIEC) from 24th to 27th April 2008. It is supported by the Ministry of Industry & Commerce, Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) and the EDB. Gulf Air is the official airline, whilst DHL is the official freight carrier.

Powered by Essen Motor Show will be the subtitle of BIMS which will follow the concept of Essen Motor Show, regarded as the most multi-faceted automobile fair anywhere in the world.

As of press time, national pavilions from Germany, Taiwan, UK, France and The Netherlands have reserved a presence at this landmark event which marks the maiden launch of Bahrain's premier and largest business-to-business auto show. The spacious, world-class, pillar-free internal and external exhibit grounds of BIEC will give car agents, distributors and other exhibitors the opportunity to stretch their budgets and creativity at Bahrain's spectacular motor show. Brabus, one of the world's leading tuning companies, will also be exhibiting with a large presence at BIMS.

Families and avid motoring enthusiasts can anticipate a stunning presentation of what's new and what's next in production, classic, concept and performance cars across different brands at BIMS in addition to thrilling, parallel events at the BIC such as 4 X 4 rides, low rider shows, drag races, night receptions and concerts.

Extensive promotional campaign

Bahrain Exhibition & Convention Authority (BECA) is working closely with the automotive media for additional visitor marketing promotions and has launched an extensive promotional campaign in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon and Bahrain to increase visitor attendance to BIMS 2008. This includes promotional media campaigns in magazines, newspaper, radio, TV and billboards. New media partners include Dubai-based Autocar Middle East and F1 Magazine.

In addition to the promotional activities being undertaken by Messe Essen, Bahrain Exhibition & Convention Authority (BECA) will be raising the profile of BIMS at overseas events where the Authority has been represented such as those in China (Shanghai), Japan (Tokyo) and Germany (Essen). To supplement the efforts of its overseas sales agents in China and Japan and maximise the level of exhibitor participation at BIMS 2008, Messe Essen has opened an office in Abu Dhabi to cover the marketing of BIMS in the UAE.

For further details, please contact:

Mr. Al Shehabi
Phone + 973 17558816

or

Mr. Al Amer
phone + 973 17558854

Bahrain Exhibition & Convention Authority (BECA) is the forerunner organisation with a mandate to market the Kingdom of Bahrain as a preferred, all year-round business destination and cultivate partnerships with key industry stakeholders such as the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), Tourism Affairs and the hospitality and leisure tourism industry. BECA is responsible for the management of several international B2B shows in partnership with organisers from France, Germany, Hong Kong, Switzerland, UAE, UK and Bahrain, as well as the operation of Bahrain International Exhibition & Convention Centre, the largest, pillar-free trade show and exhibition centre in the country. The Authority are represented in UFI (France), ICCA (The Netherlands), AEV (UK), AFECA (Singapore), Arab Union for International Exhibitions and Conferences / AUIEC (Egypt) and the AIPC - International Association of Congress Centres (Belgium).

For further information, please contact :

Debbie Stanford-Kristiansen
Director - MICE, Destination Marketing & Public Relations
Bahrain Exhibition & Convention Authority (BECA)
P.O. Box 11644, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain
p : 17558813 / 17558804