There are strong reasons to justify attending: the Middle East continues to present the professional lighting and sound industries with significant market potential and is the world’s fastest growing tourist destination, predicted to attract 68.5 million tourists by 2020 - an annual growth rate of 7.1%, well above the world average of 4.1%.The region, and the UAE in particular, continue to invest huge sums in new, architecturally-driven initiatives which require state-of-the-art facilities to be competitive. Projects in development include the Kempinski Hotel on The Palm island (US$50 million); The Gardens shopping mall, Dubai (US$218 million); Dubai International Airport expansion (US$4,100 million); Dubai Festival City (US$1,600 million) and the BurJuman shopping mall expansion (US$275 million).
The market potential is not just restricted to the UAE - the 2006 Asian Games will take place in Qatar, leading to a complete overhaul of the country’s infrastructure, and next year will see Bahrain organizing the region’s first Formula 1 Grand Prix.
PLASA Members wishing to take advantage of the discounts should contact Iain McLean at IIR.
