UAE wedding tourism on the rise

"This is a multi-million dollar industry growing at 20% per annum. The UAE is one of the most affluent markets in the world where culturally weddings are very important and where no expense is spared," said Charlotte Proudman, Event Manager, The Bride Show Dubai 2005, the Middle East's largest and most distinguished exhibition for wedding day organisers and brides-to-be.

For Dubai's five-star hotel industry, wedding receptions are significant revenue earners.

"Weddings are extremely important to our business. They constitute about 50% of our total catering revenue," said Amit Arora, Director of Sales and Marketing, The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai.

According to other five-star properties like The Metropolitan Palace Hotel Dubai, weddings can have a positive impact on the way their brands are perceived in the local market.

"In the peak season, we could organise up to seven weddings a month and generally bookings come in well in advance" said David Danby, Group Director of Marketing, Habtoor Hospitality Hotels.

But it's not just hotels that are jumping on the bride bandwagon, Al Boom Tourist Village in Dubai, which has the largest wedding complex in the Middle East, is already planning to expand its services to other parts of the UAE.

"We have an average of six weddings a day and our venue can cater up to 10,000 people at any one time. We've just opened sister companies in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi and more projects are already underway to meet high demand," said Mohammed Nabil Odiaman, Business Development Manager, Al Boom Tourist Village.

Al Boom is one of the diamond sponsors of The Bride Show Dubai 2005, which will be held from 12 - 15th April at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre.

"Our show has already doubled in size over the last year and this will be the biggest bride show in the event's eight-year history," added Proudman.

"We have exhibitors from all facets of the wedding industry this year from hotels, florists, lighting and stage designers to top international fashion houses. We're also expecting over 20,000 visitors at the event - a rise of over 60% on last year."