The Hotel Show, the Middle East`s largest hotel supplies exhibition, was opened in
The Hotel Show, the Middle East`s largest hotel supplies exhibition, was opened in
On a tour of the exhibition hall at Airport Expo Dubai, Sheikh Ahmed chatted to a number of the 140 exhibitors from the Middle East and overseas who, collectively, provide a huge range of products, and services, for the hospitality industry.
Sheikh Ahmed was accompanied by Khalid Bin Sulayem, Director General of the Government of Dubai`s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, which is supporting the exhibition.
He was escorted by Joanne Evans and Laith Kubba, directors of Streamline Marketing, organisers of the show, which is held under the patronage of H.H.General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, UAE Minister of Defence, and chairman of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.
Among the companies visited by Sheikh Ahmed on his tour of the exhibition hall, the German electronics giant, Grundig, was launching a new interactive multimedia platform, Roombase, which is designed to meet the growing demand from hotel guests around the world for more from the communications and information systems in hotels.
Roombase offers everything from Pay TV and Video on Demand to a varying range of hotel service functions, and gives guests access to the World Wide Web via inroom internet.
Sheikh Ahmed also visited the exhibition stand of the UAE`s newly-established international hospitality management school, The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, which has been set up in academic association with Switzerland`s renowned Lausanne Hotel School.
Like the exhibition, the Academy is patronised by H.H.General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and is part of the Jumeirah International group, which includes three of Dubai`s landmark hotels, the Burj Al Arab, the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, and the Emirates Towers Hotel.
Talking to representatives of the world`s leading manufacturer of pianos, Steinway & Sons, Sheikh Ahmed was introduced to the designer grand piano specially created to celebrate the musical instrument`s 300th anniversary. The company hopes its limited edition Tricentennial piano, which embodies a 148-year long tradition of hand craftsmanship and technical innovation, will help it break into the lucrative Middle East hotel market.
The Hotel Show capitalises on the Middle East`s position as the world`s fastest growing tourist destination, with billions of dollars being invested into hotel and leisure resort construction and expansions, and local governments also investing heavily in tourism. Hotel development has accelerated dramatically in recent years, and there are currently plans to build more than 140 luxury hotels and resorts within the next three to five years, creating 34,000 more hotel.
With so much hotel development under way, and much more in the pipeline, The Hotel Show is a shop window for the huge range of suppliers trying to tap into the Middle East hotel market. The exhibition is also supported by the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, DNATA, the official travel agent, Freightworks Expo, official freight forwarder, Budget Rent-a-car, Hotel Intelligence Middle East, the official publication, Airport Expo Dubai, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, the official hotel and leisure consultant to the show.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
