The Address Hotels + Resorts strengthens sales presence in key feeder markets

The Address Hotels + Resorts, the five star premium hotel brand owned and operated by Emaar Hospitality Group, has strengthened its sales presence in key feeder markets in the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent. The company has appointed Nijhawan Group as its official sales representative office in India and Mr Wael Naba, a hospitality sales and marketing professional in Saudi Arabia.The exclusive representations are aimed at strengthening the marketing initiatives of The Address Hotels + Resorts, which already operates two prestigious properties in Dubai, The Address Downtown Burj Dubai, the flagship hotel of the brand, and The Palace – The Old Town.
 
Mr Marc Dardenne, Chief Executive Officer, Emaar Hospitality Group and Emaar Hotels & Resorts, said: “The Address Hotels + Resorts has consolidated its reputation as an award-winning premier hotel brand. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the Indian Subcontinent are among our strongest feeder markets apart from Europe and Southeast Asia. Through our exclusive marketing partnerships in Saudi Arabia and India, we are further strengthening our customer outreach.”
 
He added: “Dubai’s tourism profile represents a high proportion of visitors from the Gulf region, particularly Saudi Arabia, and India. The marketing partnerships will help to reach out to these key markets and enable potential guests to evaluate the differentials offered by our brand. Both the Nijhawan Group and Mr Wael Naba have years of expertise in the hospitality sector and will further establish our brand in India and Saudi Arabia, respectively.”
 
Marketing activities to be undertaken by the new representatives include tradeshow management, roadshows and promotions. Sales and marketing initiatives will be drawn out and implemented to ensure achievement of revenue goals by tapping into relevant market segments within the countries.
 
With 34 years of experience in India, Nijhawan Group is a leader in the travel sector and boasts more than ten offices in different regions of the country including Delhi, Bangalore, Jaipur, Mumbai and Punjab among other important cities. The Group will focus on designing sales and marketing strategies to keep positioning The Address Hotels + Resorts as a luxury destination for business and leisure travellers within India.
 
The Address Downtown Burj Dubai – in close proximity to The Dubai Mall, the world’s largest shopping and entertainment destination – offers 196 guestrooms including 25 suites, and 626 serviced residences. The Palace – The Old Town, with 242 luxurious guestrooms including 81 suites, is an upmarket five star property managed by The Address Hotels + Resorts, also located in Downtown Burj Dubai.
 
Two additional hotels are scheduled to open later this year as part of the expansion plans of The Address Hotels + Resorts. The Address Dubai Mall is nearing completion and will offer 245 signature rooms, 450 serviced apartments and modern lifestyle amenities. The Address Dubai Marina, with 200 guestrooms and 442 serviced residences, is part of the Dubai Marina Mall complex, located centrally in the one of the most sought-after waterfront projects in the region.

UAE Nationals dominate The Dubai Mall raffle winners

The ‘Win Millions’ raffle at Festival @ The Dubai Mall has a clear domination by UAE Nationals, who have won 40 daily raffles for AED 10,000 each and one weekly draw for AED 100,000 with only two days remaining for the shopping and entertainment extravaganza to conclude.Three expatriates – an Iranian, South African and Pakistani each – also won AED 100,000 each at the weekly draws. The Iranian expatriate, Mr Kaveh Oyar Hosseini also got AED 50,000 as bonus prize money for being present in the mall during the draw. The grand draw for AED 1 million will be held on the closing day of the Festival on Friday (May 29, 2009). Mr Nasser Rafi, Chief Executive Officer, Emaar Malls Group, said: “The winner profile of Festival @ The Dubai Mall highlights the cosmopolitan character of Dubai. Apart from the UAE nationals, the daily winners of over 100 customers at the mall include nationals from the Middle East, Europe, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, CIS countries and USA.” He added: “The multi-cultural profile of winners also highlights the appeal of The Dubai Mall to people of all nationalities, several of them tourists. The chief draw of the mall as a shopping destination is the diversity of choices it offers, with over 900 outlets including several flagship and Middle East debuts of the world’s leading brands.” To participate in the Win Millions raffles, customers only have to spend AED 500 at any of the retail and/or F&B outlets. They also get bargain deals from participating outlets. The month-long Festival @ The Dubai Mall, also featuring a Grand Bentley raffle and mall-wide entertainment, will conclude on May 29. It is supported by Dubai Media Inc, Arab Media Group and The Address Hotels + Resorts, a part of Emaar Hospitality Group.

High-Level French Delegation Meets With Jafza Officials

A high-level French delegation, comprising senior officials from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Northern French region of Nord Pas de Calais, recently met with senior officials from Jafza to discuss the investment opportunities in the free zone and to increase the scope of cooperation between the two sides.

The delegation accompanied by the Consul General of France in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, HE Nada Yafi met with Chief Operating Officer of Jafza, Pat McGillycuddy, and Chief Commercial Officer, Ibrahim Al Janahi. The visiting officials were taken on an extensive tour of the Free Zone’s various award-winning facilities.

Talks between the delegation and Jafza representatives focused on investment opportunities, facilities and services offered by Jafza to help companies serve the Middle East markets efficiently.

Welcoming the delegation, Mr. Ibrahim Al Janahi said: “Nord Pas de Calais is a well-known industrial region in France and many companies are looking to expand their operations to overseas destinations. We are very keen to forge more long-term sustainable partnerships with companies based there. France and Dubai have both witnessed growing bilateral trade over the decades. Jafza’s trade with France in 2008 stood at USD 898 million and we expect this figure to grow in future."

Mr. Al Janahi also disclosed that more than 100 French companies are at present based in Jafza including several top notch names such as Total, Schlumberger, Renault, Christian Dior among others, in different commercial, industrial and service sectors. The number of French companies in the Free Zone has grown almost four-fold since the turn of the millennium.

"Jafza has emerged as an important profit centre for these companies, serving key markets in the MENA region, Indian subcontinent and other emerging economies in West Asia. Over the years we have continued to generate significant interest from French companies eager to set up base here. This visit has underscored the opportunities for further trade between France and the countries in the region, which is why the Chamber of Commerce will host a business seminar on Dubai for French companies looking to trade from this region later this year."

Mr. Pat McGillycuddy also briefed the visiting delegation on various Economic Zones World (EZW) projects in France that are being developed and executed by Gazeley, its specialised sustainable industrial and logistics infrastructure solution provider. EZW is the parent company of Jafza, Gazeley, TechnoPark and DAZ. It is currently engaged in more than 30 economic zones and logistics park projects worldwide

Dubai As Hub For Business In Mideast Boosts Materials Handling Sector

Free Zones has contributed in a big way to Dubai’s spectacular economic growth in 2008 despite a deep recession in other parts of the world.This positive development augurs well for the materials handling and logistics sector which is set to gather in the emirate from May 31 to June 2, 2009, which will be held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition center, to display the latest the industry has to offer.Materials Handling Middle East is The Ultimate International Exhibition for Logistics, Supply Chain, Freight and Cargo Industries!Materials Handling Middle East 2009 is designed to provide the best platform for international exhibitors to showcase their products and services to a diverse visitor crowd.The exhibition allows the exhibitors to penetrate and develop their market share in the GCC, Middle East, Africa, Indian subcontinent, and the CIS.H.H. Sheikh Ahmed, the Patron of Materials Handling Middle East has said that Dubai Airport Free Zone has achieved high growth rates in 2008 as occupancy for international companies increased by 58% leading to 84% increase in net profits and 59% in revenues compared to 2007.H.H. Sheikh Ahmed noted that these growth rates will continue given the current expansion plans which have allocated AED 2 billion for investment in new facilities to be ready for more foreign investment flow in the near future.Despite space-limitations, Dubai Airport Free Zone has made optimum utilization to provide more spaces for international companies and organizations.H.H. Sheikh Ahmed also referred to the vital role Dubai Airport Free Zone plays in adding considerable value to the national economy, and Dubai’s economy in particular. It focuses on attracting outstanding companies in different service sectors run by a professional team which has led to real growth in the emirate’s economy.“We welcome the support that His Highness Sheikh Ahmed has so generously granted to the Materials Handling Middle East exhibition. With the support of His Highness to this trade show, I am sure this will be another successful year in terms of the number of international and regional companies participating and the visitors that will come to this networking opportunity for the trade,” said Ms. Elisabeth Brehl, Managing Director of Epoc Messe Frankfurt GmbH, organizers of the exhibition. “With Materials Handling Middle East based in Dubai, this trade fair is ideally positioned for those exhibitors keen to reach markets in the Gulf and Middle East, the Indian Sub-continent, the CIS countries and Africa as Dubai is strategically located with excellent road and air connections to the region.”Press reports show Dubai’s non-oil trade grew 38 per cent in 2008. Dubai’s non-oil foreign trade with the rest of the world grew 38 per cent in 2008 to AED 934.7 billion as compared to AED 678.5 billion in 2007. The figures released by Dubai World’s Statistics Department highlighted growth in trade by AED 256.2 billion.A Dubai World official said that Dubai’s total foreign trade has maintained its steady growth pattern in 2008, reflecting the emirate’s basic economic strength. Even during times of global economic fluctuations, Dubai has stayed on course of positive growth. A close study of the trade trend over the past 10 years shows that this pattern will continue in the coming years and Dubai will remain the leading trading hub in the region.DP World, which manages a portfolio of more than 40 ports across the world, does not expect any decline in volumes at any of its ports within the region, according to a press statement."Our growth for this year will remain as projected and volumes at
Regional ports will continue to witness double digit growth," said
Jamal Majid bin Thaniah, Executive Vice-President for DP World, and Group CEO, Ports and Free Zone World in a press statement. "The region’s economy is solid and capable of withstanding any possible impact from the current global financial crisis."Jebel Ali Port, one of the largest in the world, is expecting more than
40 per cent increase in cargo container throughout from the last
Year’s 9.9m TEUs (Twenty-foot equivalent units) to 14 million TEUs in February 2009.Last year, UAE terminals increased container cargo through by 19 per cent to 14m TEUs, with Dubai’s ports of Jebel Ali and Port Rashid growing at 20 per cent to reach 11m TEUs. The growth in UAE ports matched the 19-per cent average set by the Middle East,
Europe and Africa.Materials Handling Middle East, now on its fifth year will have 250 exhibitors from 35 countries participating. The exhibitors will be from the Logistics, Supply Chain, Freight/Cargo, Automation, Information & Communication Technology fields.H.H. Sheikh Ahmed, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group said: “Materials Handling Middle East is an example of providing innovative solutions to the evolving advancement in transportation and logistics industries, along with several other large scale developments that are being built to mark U.A.E’s leadership in these sectors. The transportation and logistics market of the U.A.E. is one of the most dynamic in the global business scene today.”Materials Handling Middle East 2009 will provide the exhibitors with the ideal business setting that encourages and initiates business transactions while maximizing and pushing the potential of trade limits.
 

World’s Largest In-Mall Retail Festival Opens At The Dubai Mall On Thursday

The world’s largest in-mall retail and entertainment festival will flag off on Thursday (April 30, 2009) at The Dubai Mall. The Festival@The Dubai Mall, a 30-day shopping and leisure extravaganza, marks the first time in the world that over 900 world-class retailers including 160 food & beverage outlets, join hands for a grand promotion in a mall environment.Mr Nasser Rafi, Chief Executive Officer, Emaar Malls Group, said: “The month-long event comes at a perfect time to reach out not only to families in the Gulf region but also visitors from the larger Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent, Iran and Russia. The festival is timed to offer families an added incentive and invitation to visit the mall during the school holidays.”Mr Rafi explained: “With 900 retail outlets already open, The Dubai Mall has the highest concentration of the world’s most leading retail brands in a single mall. The festival is therefore unsurpassed globally in terms of retailer participation within a mall environment. Retailers in the mall have extended their full support to the festival, which is organised with the Dubai Shopping Festival Office as the Strategic Partner.”Leading retailers in The Dubai Mall, several of them operating their flagship stores or having opened their first Middle East outlets, support the Festival, by offering three kinds of shopping deals – Part Sale, Festival Discount and Festival Offers. Mall tenants will display their chosen category of the offers in-store for easy identification by customers. Complementing the retail deals, shoppers also stand to win millions of dirhams in prizes through daily, weekly and grand raffle draws.
Mr. Ramesh Prabhakar, Managing Partner, Rivoli Group LLC, observed that the Festival@The Dubai Mall is a “very positive sign of support from Emaar and the Dubai Shopping Festival Office. We are sure that it will become another key activity in the calendar of Dubai’s retail activities.”Ms. Colette Shannon, Marketing Manager of the first Waitrose supermarket in the Middle East region in the mall, said the Festival will create top of mind awareness of the mall. “It is a superb mall, and will over time, establish itself as the premium mall destination in Dubai.”Mr. David Reily, CEO Middle East, RSH, said that all of the company’s stores in the mall will have “cross-store offers” during the Festival with gift vouchers to be presented to customers. “The Dubai Mall is an outstanding destination and I have never seen a mall generate more fresh ideas or energy.”Visitors to the mall can also take part in a unique ‘Bid 2 Win’ auction to bid for a diverse range of products starting off at an easy AED 1. In another opportunity to win big, the festival will feature a Grand Bentley Raffle, where only 5,000 tickets, priced AED 200 each, will be drawn for a luxurious, four-door Bentley Continental Flying Spur. An array of entertainment activities, across the mall will assure non-stop fun for all visitors.The opening day of the Festival@The Dubai Mall will witness five lucky winners of raffle draws walking away with prizes of AED 10,000 each. Customers only have to shop for an aggregate AED 500 from any of the retail or F&B outlets during the entire month for obtaining the raffle coupons. The weekly draw for AED 100,000 will be held on Saturday with the winner standing to gain another AED 50,000 if present in the mall at the time of the draw. The sale of coupons for the Grand Bentley Draw will also open on Thursday morning at special stands across the mall.Items for the Bid 2 Win will be displayed prominently at the mall and visitors only have to check the product code and SMS to 4643 after registering for the bid at the same number. The products for auction will range in prize from AED 10,000 to AED 100,000. Bids will start at AED 1 and will continue till 9pm, with bidders being informed of the status of the bid in real-time. Live updates of the auction will also be displayed in the multimedia screens across the mall. Several entertainment programmes including musicians and jugglers will regale visitors, who can also tour the Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo and Dubai Ice-Rink for added fun, and watch the testing of The Dubai Fountain, the world’s tallest performing fountain, at the nearby Burj Dubai Lake.Festival@The Dubai Mall is supported by Dubai Media Inc, Arab Media Group and The Address Hotels + Resorts, a part of the Emaar Hospitality Group. Dubai Shopping Festival Office offers strategic support including executing the various retail and entertainment activities.
 

Emaar Launches Festival@The Dubai Mall To Showcase Spectacular Shopping And Leisure Extravaganza

The Dubai Mall, the city’s most-definitive lifestyle shopping and leisure destination, will host a spectacular shopping, entertainment and raffle extravaganza from April 30 to May 29, 2009. The Festival@The Dubai Mall is envisaged as the Gulf region’s most innovative mall-based shopping and leisure event offering superb shopping deals, life-changing raffle draws and non-stop entertainment. With Dubai Shopping Festival Office as a Strategic Partner, Festival@The Dubai Mall celebrates the tag-line ‘30 Days, Many Ways.’Mr Ahmad Al Matrooshi, Managing Director – UAE, Emaar Properties, said that Festival@The Dubai Mall is conceptualised to become an important event in the tourism and retail calendar of Dubai. “Tourism and retail have been the key pillars of Dubai’s economy,” he said. “With Festival@The Dubai Mall, we are not only adding further stimulus to the retail sector of the emirate but also strengthening the tourism experience offered by Dubai. The festival is being promoted across the GCC region and larger Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent and Iran to ensure wide-scale participation that will energise Dubai’s tourism, retail and hospitality sectors.”Mr Matrooshi said Festival@The Dubai Mall offers the entire breadth of excitement associated with a shopping and leisure extravaganza. “There will be exceptional shopping deals at the over 900 retail outlets in The Dubai Mall and shoppers stand to win millions of dirhams in prizes, all planned to give a boost to the local economy. The Dubai Mall is an unparalleled family destination and with this festival we are showcasing the mall’s unmatched strengths to the world.”Mr Nasser Rafi, Chief Executive Officer, Emaar Malls Group, said that Festival@The Dubai Mall is a timely celebration of Dubai’s stature in global retailing as the fourth most popular destination for retailers, as recognised recently by CB Richard Ellis in their global survey. “The CBRE survey revealed that 46 per cent of 280 of the world’s top retailers have a presence in Dubai, next only to London, Paris and New York City. This is a big achievement for our city, which has invested heavily in retail infrastructure. The Dubai Mall is one of the most significant investments in retailing, and what we have created is a world-class mall and a superb shopping and entertainment destination.”Visitors to The Dubai Mall during the month-long festival can look forward to exceptional shopping deals with three kinds of shopping offers – Part Sale, Festival Discount and Festival Offers. Mall tenants will display their chosen category of the offers in-store for easy identification by customers. The Dubai Mall has also made special arrangements for mall tenants to obtain these permissions from the Department of Economic Development (DED) office, located within the mall.
The Festival@The Dubai Mall will give away five prizes each of AED 10,000 every day and AED 100,000 every Saturday with a bonus AED 50,000 if the winner happens to be present at the draw, with a grand prize of AED 1 million at the end of event, through raffle draws. Shoppers get a raffle coupon for every AED 500 spent on aggregate purchases across any retail outlet, including the food court in the mall. The purchases may be made during the 30 days of the festival.One of the innovative events at Festival@The Dubai Mall is “Bid 2 Win,” a live daily auction of three to four products from mall retailers valued between AED 10,000 and AED 100,000. Any visitor can participate by sending an SMS with his or her price bid, which starts at AED 1. Another fabulous winning opportunity is the Grand Bentley Raffle, whereby only 5,000 tickets, which can be purchased at AED 200 each, are drawn to reward a lucky winner with the luxurious, four-door Bentley Continental Flying Spur.Mr Rafi explained: “The Bid 2 Win and bargain deals will be a significant boost for retail in the mall, while also offering families the opportunity to win big. With several flagship stores and exclusive franchises in the Middle East, The Dubai Mall is a full-spectrum family shopping and leisure destination. We are adding to the appeal of the mall to families with the Festival@The Dubai Mall.”Complementing these retail and raffle-driven events will be larger-than-life entertainment programmes. Apart from The Dubai Fountain show every evening, which is currently in the testing phase, visitors will be entertained by 25 solo acts including jugglers, musicians and magicians, skating shows at the Dubai Ice-Rink and celebrity appearances.“The Dubai Mall is already popular for the Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, The Waterfall and the Olympic-sized Dubai Ice-Rink. For the Festival@The Dubai Mall we are introducing several innovative leisure events,” said Mr Rafi.Festival@The Dubai Mall is supported by Dubai Media Inc, Arab Media Group and Emaar Hospitality Group. Dubai Shopping Festival Office offers strategic support in executing the various retail and entertainment activities.Opened in November 2008, The Dubai Mall currently has over 900 retail outlets open, of the total 1,200 stores. The mall also has a Gold Souk with some 200 gold and jewellery outlets. Families and friends can meet at the extensive food courts featuring 160 F&B outlets and capacity to seat 3,000 people at a time. More entertainment avenues including KidZania®, SEGA Republic, and the 22-screen REEL cinema will open later this year. Galeries Lafayette, France’s leading lifestyle retailer and Bloomingdale’s, America’s leading department store will be the key anchor stores, which marks the first time both retailers will open stores in the Middle East region.
 

Dubai Airport Free Zone Offers Meglobal Easy Access To Emerging Economies

The Middle East market continues to be a desirable market for long-term growth due to rapidly developing regional economies and increased demand for petrochemical products, according to Rose Anwar, of MEGlobal, a petrochemical company operating out of the Dubai Airport Free Zone.

MEGlobal is the exclusive marketer of Monoethylene Glycol (MEG) and Diethylene Glycol (DEG) produced by Equate Petrochemical Company of Kuwait. These products are marketed and sold to a wide customer base in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.

The current global economic crisis is making business conditions for all petrochemical companies quite difficult. However, the Middle East remains a desirable market for long-term growth due to rapidly developing economies and increased demand for petrochemical products explained Ms. Anwar.

MEGlobal is a 50:50 joint venture between the Dow Chemical Company (Dow) of the United States and Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) of Kuwait. The organization was formed in July 2004.

As a joint venture of two of the leading chemical producers in the world, MEGlobal offers the deepest and broadest resources in the EG industry. In forming MEGlobal, Dow and PIC arrived at a shared vision that provides our customers with substantial benefits that our two partners could not offer as separate entities.

“MEGlobal is a perfect example of a company that takes advantage of the strategic location of the Dubai Airport Free Zone to be close to emerging markets in the Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East and Arica,” said Mr. Mohammed Bin Suwailem , Director Sales, Dubai Airport Free Zone.
“Dubai Airport Free Zone is one of the world’s fast growing Free Zones that provides international companies an alternative business prospect to economies in the West suffering a recession. We facilitate access to emerging economies in the region,” Mr. Bin Suwailem stressed.

Ms. Anwar added the petrochemical industry has been one of the hardest hit segments in this global financial crisis and many chemical companies have gone out of business or significantly reduced their operating capabilities.

“MEGlobal does not see a major reduction in our growth pattern as we continue to focus on economic growth in key emerging regions (India, Pakistan, Latin America),” she said.

She added, “Like every other company however, MEGlobal is carefully watching its inventory and managing cash levels during this crisis.”

Mr. Suwailem added that Dubai Airport Free Zone facilities and services have been acclaimed and earned an international reputation in the industry.

Ms. Anwar added MEGlobal’s primary focus here is to promote the market in India, Pakistan and Latin America. “We are growing our market position in the emerging markets in these regions, so the Dubai headquarters is an ideal location for accessibility to these key economies.”

Airport Show To Showcase Growth Opportunities In Region’s AED 220 Billion Airport Infrastructure Projects

The region’s AED 220 billion investments in airport infrastructure projects will take the spotlight at this year’s edition of the Airport Show to be held from May 19 to 21 at the Dubai Airport Expo.

The latest edition of the Airport Show (www.theairportshow.com) is set to attract over 300 exhibitors from more than 40 countries. The event, held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman, Dubai Airports, is organized by Reed Exhibitions, the world’s leading event organiser.

According to MEED (Middle East Economic Digest), more than AED 165 billion worth of airport-related projects are under way in the GCC, Iraq and Iran. Further afield, analysts estimate that airport development in the larger Middle East, North Africa and Asian subcontinent will be worth an additional AED 55 billion in planned and ongoing projects, bringing the total investments to AED 220 billion. With 39 airports being constructed or modernised across the Middle East, Africa and India, the region offers business opportunities for suppliers across the value chain of airport development and operations.

In a statement released with preparations underway for the Airport Show’s 2009 edition, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum said, “With billions of dollars earmarked for airport developments across the Middle East, Africa and the Indian Subcontinent, the region represents one of the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world today”.

“As regional civil aviations continue to construct brand new terminals, concourses and runways, and upgrade their existing facilities in preparation for the next generation of super-jumbos, this pace of modernisation creates outstanding opportunities for airport suppliers and contractors.”

Noting that the annual Airport Show was one of the world’s largest events focusing on airport construction, technology and services, Sheikh Ahmed noted that “the event offers suppliers a unique forum to network with civil aviation officials and airport companies, as well as consultants and contractors from the sector, from across the region. Several other regional civil aviation entities will also be on hand to discuss their own developments in pre-scheduled, private meetings with exhibitors”.

Airport Show is supported by leading aviation authorities and trade bodies including Dubai Airports, Abu Dhabi Airports Company, British Aviation Group, British Airport Services & Equipment Association, German Airport Technology & Equipment (GATE), UBIFRANCE (the French Agency for international business development) and Danish Airport Group.

Frederic Theux, President of Reed Exhibitions Middle East said, “The region views airport development as an integral part of the economic diversification agenda. Reed is pleased to present the 2009 Airport Show in conjunction with our partners and leading government authorities. We believe the Airport Show platform creates an ideal environment for participants to network with industry peers, gain insights on industry trends and conclude business deals.”

First held in 2001, the Airport Show has progressed rapidly to become one of the largest airport construction, operations, technology and services events in the world. The 2008 edition showcased 515 suppliers from 41 countries, over 17,000 sqm of exhibit space, and drew more than 5,000 trade professionals.