Region's only dedicated travel catering services exhibition opens today

This year's event saw an increase of 34 percent in new exhibitors with three new countries making a presence at the show including Brazil, Denmark and Singapore. In addition, over 100 local and international companies are present. ITCA Dubai 2008 is expected to receive over 2,000 trade visitors.

Organised by Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), ITCA Dubai 2008 - the 3rd Travel Catering and In-flight Service Exhibition, runs from 3-5 November 2008 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Running alongside ITCA Dubai and organised by the International Travel Catering Association (ITCA) is the two-day ITCA Dubai Conference, the only dedicated conference for the travel catering industry in the Middle East. The conference will attract key decision makers from the travel catering industry across the region.

Joanne Cook, Group Industry Manager - Food Cluster, DWTC, said:

"We have seen huge success with the quality of visitors so far. The demand for travel catering services has increased dramatically over the past years and we look to support this growth by making ITCA Dubai an ideal platform for professionals within the travel industry to do business. We have seen visitors from across the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and beyond which proves there is a strong need for travel catering services in the region."

International exhibitors with the largest presence at the show include Switzerland's Gategroup, Heather Grey Group from India, Hobart GmbH from Germany, Saudi Arabian Airline Catering Company, and Medstar Misr Company from Egypt.
Largest local exhibitors at the show include ITCA Dubai sponsor Emirates Airlines as well as Fit Fresh, Nestle Foodservices, Al Yousifi General Trading and Ronnefeldt Trading LLC.

Bob Ferguson, Emirates Senior Vice President of Aircraft Catering said: "Emirates is pleased to sponsor this year's ITCA Exhibition. As an award-winning carrier and the world's largest A380 customer, Emirates' in-flight service and catering has always been very important elements that make the Emirates experience what it is. To that end, we have made major investments in both service delivery and aircraft catering. Last year, we opened our state-of-the-art Emirates In-flight Catering Centre- the largest facility of its kind in the world. We also opened our new Cabin Crew Training College. ITCA Dubai 2008 exhibition has always represented an important exhibition for Emirates, offering a rich exchange of ideas and excellent opportunity to see the latest innovation in the industry."