GLOBAL HOSPITALITY PROVIDERS HEAD TO DUBAI AS REGIONAL INDUSTRY PLANS MULTI-BILLION INVESTMENTS

Major worldwide players will gather in Dubai this May (23-25 May) at The Hotel Show – the undisputed flagship for, and gateway to, the Middle East’s multi-billiondollar hospitality industry – as the Middle East plans new developments to meet accelerated tourism ambitions.

Running at Dubai World Trade Centre, the Hotel Show comes against a regional upsurge of hospitality investment driven largely by the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

“Saudi Arabia alone needs to accommodate the 100 million tourists it hopes to attract by 2030 with a hotel pipeline valued at US$110 billion while the UAE hospitality market is expected to expand by 25% over the same period adding a further 48,000 rooms to its room stock. This offers unprecedented opportunity for developers, equipment and product suppliers, designers and operators,” said Elaine O'Connell, Vice President of Design and Hospitality at dmg events, show organiser.

The scale of the opportunity has attracted major players from throughout the Middle East, Europe, the Far East and Americas, all with an eye on winning new business with innovative products and services. The major upscaling of the region’s hospitality potential has seen the show organisers, dmg events, expand the event’s profile with new content, features, and inspiration across three key industry verticals - Hospitality Technology, Operating Equipment & Supplies, Food & Beverage Equipment and HORECA which is shaping up to be core industry driver attracting major names including Danube Hospitality,

Egyptian German Porcelain, Incode, Groupe GM, Everstyle and Shiji Group and Rapid Supplies Middle East.

The event will also dig deep into the regional hotel prospects through probing conferences, seminars and features which will help industry professionals unearth the opportunity sweet spots.

“For years, the Middle East has been a change influencer for the sector and its willingness to quickly address game-changing issues signals that it intends to retain that mantle. Coupled with the excitement around ongoing regional developments, the growing regional drive to net zero, increasing data regulation and the need to meet rising consumer demands for greener facilities and services, the region, and The Hotel Show Dubai, are again at the fulcrum of sectoral change,” added O'Connell.

Knowledge sharing is a key event focus. More than 100 experts will take to the event’s conference stages. Pressing sector issues will be aired at The Hospitality Leadership Forum.

HITEC Dubai, in partnership with Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP), the recognised voice for hospitality’s finance and technology segments, will put breakthrough technologies and their transformative promise under scrutiny and explore four primary themes: touchless guest experience, AI & BI in the hospitality industry, sustainability and green technology and revenue optimization.

And in one of the most important public gatherings of regional housekeeping professionals, the often ‘unsung’ heroes of hotel servicing will convene for the UAE Professional Housekeepers Group Meeting. This interactive meeting will feature in-depth discussions and tutorials on maintaining excellence in the face of new market conditions including shifting guest expectations, emerging technologies, techniques, regulations, and products.

The show will also host The Emirates Culinary Guilds’ fifth ‘Chefs Table’. Nine culinary teams from some of the regions’ leading hotels will go head-tohead over three days to produce a stunning five course meal in the hope of winning the coveted title of ‘Hotel Culinary Team of the Year.’

Upwards of 13,000 industryrelated professionals from investors and owners, F&B specialists, procurement decision-makers, designers and specifiers are expected to attend the show. Meanwhile, show attendance is expected to benefit from its co-location with the Leisure Show, the one-stop exhibition for the Middle East’s dynamic fitness, spa, and gym sectors, which brings owners and operators together with equipment distributors and suppliers. The show has areas dedicated to sport & fitness, wellness & spa, and recreation & adventure.

Also co-located alongside The Hotel Show Dubai and The Leisure Show will be HITEC Dubai, the world’s largest hospitality technology event, INDEX interior design show and Workspace – the premier event for workplace technologies, with over 28,000 visitors expected to attend all co-located shows.

“The trade shows running alongside each other form a powerful quartet of information, products, services and supplies that inform the wider hospitality and leisure sectors, meaning visitors can maximise their time and exhibitors can network and unearth new opportunities for partnerships and collaboration,” explained O’Connell.

For more information, visit www.thehotelshow.com