Arab Health 2009 already a virtual sell out

By the time Arab Health 2008 closes its doors tonight (31 January 2008) at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, the event will have successfully showcased over 2,200 exhibitors from more than 65 countries. With final figures being collected, it is expected that total participation in Arab Health 2008 will be well in excess of 50,000 - a 10% increase over last year and yet another record.

"Arab Health - the world's second largest event of its kind - is an incredible show and has reached capacity in terms of space at what is currently the Middle East's biggest event facility," said Simon Page, Group Director of Life Sciences at IIR Middle East. Arab Health 2009 will take place in Dubai from 26-29 January.

"Tens of thousands of visitors from over 100 countries came to do millions of dollars worth of business with a huge gathering of some of the most important manufacturers in the global healthcare sector," Page added. "We are delighted with the turnout."

Page said he was now eagerly waiting to see the world's biggest venue dedicated to major trade fairs - the Dubai Exhibition World, offering a massive 120,000 square metres of column free exhibition space in its first phase. This compares with the current Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre which has a total of more than 60,000 square metres of exhibition space - all of which is taken up by Arab Health 2008.

The sheer scale of Arab Health impressed new visitors as well as regular attendees. Steve Rusckowski, CEO of Philips Healthcare said: "Arab Health has been a very important event for many years. This year I wanted to see this amazing healthcare congress and trade show with my own eyes. As Philips, we prefer to listen and exchange ideas before we come to solutions. This visit to Arab Health has been a unique occasion to do exactly that."

Global IT leader IBM describes the Arab Health conferences and exhibition as the "perfect places to showcase our advanced technologies." They were also the best medium "to communicate our latest breakthrough solutions to an audience of high profile executives in healthcare sector," said Takreem El-Tohamy, general manager IBM Middle East, Egypt, and Pakistan.

Richard di Benedetto, President and CEO of GE Healthcare International - Eastern and Africa Growth Markets, said: "Apart from continuing to build new partnerships with more local healthcare providers, Arab Health complements our mutual goal to design and develop innovative solutions that will be a true local fit for our customers."

Agfa HealthCare said Arab Health's importance is growing, both in terms of attending participants and the overall interest it generates. Herman Raats, General Manager Export, said: "The event allows us to showcase our full range of leading solutions...ensuring we are able to properly and effectively inform the healthcare industry in the Middle East of our capacities and capabilities."

Among a number of overseas healthcare providers is Singapore. Dr Jason Yap, Director (Healthcare Services), Singapore Tourism Board, said: "The broad range of experts at Arab Health...offers the widest range of opportunities to exchange knowledge with our peers in the Middle East."

Dr Kevin Fickenscher, Chief Medical Officer of healthcare consulting company Perot Systems, said regional leaders should be commended for striving to adopt lessons learned from throughout the world. Arab Health demonstrated that healthcare can be transformed through the appropriate deployment of technologies, he added.

Arab Health 2008 is supported by the UAE Ministry of Health, Dubai Health Authority and the Health Authority Abu Dhabi. Leading sponsor is Dubai Healthcare City and main corporate sponsor is UAE development company Emaar's healthcare division.