Category Archives: Exhibitions

The fifth edition of 30-day ‘Shop Bahrain’ festival, aimed at celebrating the Kingdom’s hospitality and tourism offering, will be held from January 1 to February 2, 2019. Organised by the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA), in cooperation with partners from the public and private sector such as Tamkeen, VIVA, Gulf Air and AA Bin Hindi Group as strategic partners, the festival will include a unique line-up of events and entertainment, a shopping experience and numerous prizes. Prize partners include Gravity, Awal Gas, Hawar Beach Hotel, Kitchen for Life Company, the Ice Cream Shop and Rahim Holdings. This year’s edition will feature more than 73,000 prizes including 11 cars, electronics from AA Bin Hindi Group, 6,000 airline tickets at special rates from Gulf Air, thousands of instant prizes from VIVA and much more. “Shop Bahrain” is one of the Kingdom’s major initiatives that aim to contribute to the national economy through stimulating the tourism and retail sectors. The fourth edition successfully achieved over 145,000 transactions with the value of 19 million Bahraini Dinars and more than 137,150 local and regional shoppers registered on the online loyalty system. Commenting on the upcoming festival, Shaikh Khaled bin Humood Al Khalifa, Chief Executive, Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority, said, “We promise nothing but the best in the fifth-edition of “Shop Bahrain”, the largest nationwide event which aims to further drive the growth of the tourism and retail sector by attracting residents and tourists from our Gulf neighbours. Last edition hit a record with 19 million Bahraini Dinars of transaction value, and we are positive that this new edition will surpass all expectations. The 5th edition will serve a complete entertainment and fun experience for the …

Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) has announced another successful year for its consumer and entertainment events as it closes 2018 having hosted over 500,000 visitors across more than 29 events. This shows approximately 7 per cent increase in visitor numbers for the consumer and entertainment events from 2017. Ranging from pop concerts and theatrical productions to consumer shows and sporting events, DWTC’s events calendar has been strategic in the evolution of Dubai as a global business, leisure and entertainment hub. Mahir Julfar, Senior Vice President — Venue Services Management, Dubai World Trade Centre said, “DWTC’s annual consumer and entertainment events calendar has become an important component of our MiCE sector offering as it continues to attract thousands of thrill seekers, super fans, sporting enthusiasts and music lovers from around the world. The number of attendees in 2018 is testament to the strength of this market segment. As we go into the new year, we look forward to contributing to the city’s exciting, multicultural leisure and entertainment offering with an unforgettable line up of events, shows and festivals for the entire family.” Over 420 exhibitors and 45,965 of the region’s pop-culture fans attended the Middle East Film & Comic Con in 2018, immersing themselves in international popular culture, film, TV, sci-fi, animation, manga, comics, collectibles, and more, through a series of talks, meet-and-greets, workshops, live events and an exhibition. Running for the 19th year, Modhesh World, Dubai’s largest indoor family ‘edutainment’ destination, was spread across eight halls over the summer months, featuring a plethora of attractions, experiences, games, shows, contests and workshops. The 22nd edition of Carpet Oasis drew in 24,000 traders and visitors from all over the world to explore …

As Dubai Shopping Festival has opened the retail tourism doors, Emirates and Dubai Mall will be collaborating to give the valued Emirates Skywards members some good deals during the festival which will go on until February 2, 2019. Emirates Skywards  is giving its members five strong reasons to shop this DSF in partnership with The Dubai Mall. Here is all one can hope for: 1. Earn Skywards Miles for spends at The Dubai Mall: Emirates Skywards members can earn Skywards Miles at the rate of up to one Skywards Mile per US$ 1 spent for all purchases over AED 100 at The Dubai Mall. Members simply have to download The Dubai Mall app, register for the Emaar Malls Rewards Programme, link their Emirates Skywards account to the app and then scan their purchase receipts for the Miles to be credited to their account. 2. Be the lucky weekly winner of 100,000 Skywards Miles: Emirates Skywards will be organising a lucky draw every week during the six weeks of DSF where one winner will be drawn at random earning 100,000 Skywards Miles. Emirates Skywards members who have scanned receipts in The Dubai Mall app for cumulative purchases of AED 300 or more per day will be automatically entered into the week’s draw. The more members shop at The Dubai Mall, the stronger their chances of winning. 3. Earn more Miles through our Emirates Skywards cobranded cards: Using an Emirates Skywards co-branded card when shopping at The Dubai Mall, this DSF will allow members to gain even more Miles for a single purchase. Emirates Skywards members can check the current list of financial co-brand card partners and terms and conditions. 4. Get …

As the 24th edition of Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) begins, travel agents, tour operators and hoteliers ensure logistics are handled with care. To mark the special occasion, Majid Al Futtaim’s six shopping malls hosted a 12-hour mega sale, offering shoppers an incredible 25 to 90 per cent reductions across participating stores. Other events include fireworks display and plenty of chances to win big through a raffle, with the ultimate prize worth over AED 50,000 to spend at Majid Al Futtaim malls during DSF. This year, Dubai Shopping Festival is running from December 26, 2018  to February 2, 2019. Visitors to this year’s Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) will be treated to a host of entertainment on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day with Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of Dubai Tourism, giving more reasons to visit the city’s malls and landmarks on December 31, 2048 and January 1, 2019. During the day, shoppers can enjoy the best deals across fashion and jewellery, while at night, visitors can watch multiple fireworks and many live concerts, events and gala dinners across the city. Shoppers visiting Al Barsha Mall, Al Bustan Centre, Al Mulla Plaza, City Centre Shindagha, City Centre Me’ aisem, Burjuman Centre, Karama Centre, Oasis Mall, Dubai, Dubai Outlet Mall, Etihad Mall, Reef Mall, Times Square Centre and Century Mall have the chance to win a cash prize from AED 10,000 by spending over AED 200 on December 31.  From January 5, and every Saturday until February 2, one lucky winner who spent AED 200 on or before December 31 will be drawn to step on to the Global Village stage and spin-the-wheel to win a cash prize …

DXB Entertainments has signed partnership with Dubai Duty Free to promote Dubai Parks and Resorts to passengers arriving at all three Dubai International Airport terminals. Dubai Parks and Resorts will have a presence at Terminals 1, 2 and 3 for arrivals from December 2018 to January 2019, and will promote and sell tickets to the destination’s main theme parks, including MOTIONGATE™ Dubai, BOLLYWOOD PARKS™ Dubai, LEGOLAND® Water Park and LEGOLAND® Dubai. Around 88 million annual passengers, flying through the airport will be able to buy tickets upon arrival, to experience more than 100 rides and attractions across the four parks. Mohamed Almulla, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, DXB Entertainments, said, “We are delighted to partner with Dubai Duty Free to promote Dubai Parks and Resorts at Dubai International Airport, the main gateway to the country. This partnership is part of our ongoing efforts to promote the destination to international tourists across key locations in Dubai, by collaborating with some of Dubai’s iconic tourist facing brands. Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Duty Free said, “We are happy to work with DXB Entertainments for the convenience it offers to passengers in acquiring tickets to Dubai Parks and Resorts on arrival to Dubai. The tickets will be available at prominent desks at Dubai Duty Free at Arrivals and we know that they will be a popular purchase with our customers.”

All set to be held in Beijing on August 28 and 29, 2019, IBTM China expects over 380 international and domestic exhibitors to meet more than 400 hosted buyers during business meetings at the event. Over 3,500 visitors are also expected to attend. The year 2019 will see the introduction of a new experience zone where visitors will be able to interact with select exhibitors in immersive themed environments on the show floor. Additionally, in response to customer demand for more opportunities to learn and be inspired by outside speakers, eight new speaker slots have been added to the programme which will cover four key themes, details of which will be announced early next year. Nicole Ci, Project Manager, IBTM China, commented, “We’re excited to announce the first details of IBTM China 2019. We have ambitious plans to grow the event this year, including extending the breadth of both international and domestic exhibitors taking stands and increasing hosted buyer numbers. The market in China continues to boom and there’s huge demand for on-site education sessions. As a result, we’ve almost doubled the number of speaker sessions this year to 18. We’ll be following four topical themes to ensure the sessions are targeted to the latest hot topics, from key industry trends to event marketing and innovation. We’re looking forward to announcing more information about the event early in 2019.”

Golden Sands Hotel Apartments (GSHA) continues to be the preferred accommodation of visitors from India as shown by the increased interest received by the team at a tourism roadshow held in Delhi recently. Over 400 trade professionals comprising key travel and tour operators, wedding planners and upmarket leisure operators from the city attended the roadshow organised by the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM). Mohammed Khoori, General Manager, said, “The roadshow opened up new opportunities to tap agents who are not familiar with Golden Sands Hotel Apartments. It was the ideal platform to interact with a significantly higher number of travel agents and tour operators that market a new segment of travellers from India. The main market segments that we are looking at tapping in India this year are the group series departures and the family segment travellers who will be heading for the New Year and Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) 2019. Our main focus on expanding and consolidating ties with the new travel segment was to reach out to a larger audience and gain a higher market share.” Earlier in the year, the team of GSHA joined another DTCM roadshow and visited the cities of Kolkata, Pune, Ahmedabad and Mumbai and met potential partners and buyers.

The fourth edition of the two-day Sharjah FDI Forum titled ‘Shaping the Future of Economies’, got underway in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member Ruler of Sharjah. The event opened with optimistic comments by the HE Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, the UAE, and the Shurooq Executive Chairman about the nation’s readiness to promote foreign direct investments (FDIs) as an enabler of sustainable development, despite the slump experienced globally – especially in developed economies – in 2017. Al Mansouri shed light on how the new UAE Investment law has come into force to consolidate the nation’s position for FDI both regionally and globally, in line with the UAE Vision 2021 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030. Global flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 16 per cent in 2017 to an estimated US$1.52 trillion, from a revised US$1.81 trillion in 2016, according to the latest World Investment Report. The Economic Minister cited examples like the approval of 10-year visas for those in the fields of science, technology; new stimulus packages like bank guarantees; flexible remittances; 100 per cent business ownership by foreign investors; the promotion of entrepreneurship, technology transfer, and building capacities of national cadres. Al Mansouri remarked, “There is a need to promote cooperation and dialogue to turn this negative decline around. The UAE has number 1 position in FDI in the Arab region. It is forums like this that offer a platform for the same, and will contribute to mapping of FDI in Sharjah and the UAE.” He explained that the UAE Agenda 2021 has a focus on attracting qualitative investments targeted towards achieving sustainable …

Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA), in partnership with Sharjah International Marine Sports Club has announced The Sharjah World Championship Week to be held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler, Sharjah from December 11 to 15, 2018. Two championship water sports competitions form part of the Grand Prix of Sharjah, which include the UIM F1H2O World Championship 2018 and the UIM-ABP Aquabike Class Pro Circuit World Championship and will be the main highlights of the event. HE Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman, SCTDA, said, “Sports tourism is a key focus of Sharjah’s drive towards attracting 10 million tourists in line with the Sharjah Tourism Vision 2021. As a city which offers every member of the family an activity to enjoy, we are confident that this edition will be popular, successful and well attended once again by water sports fans, especially among the youth and the travel-driven millennials who love the challenge and exciting, competitive nature of water sports.” Up to 10 Formula 1 Powerboat Racers and 60 Aquabike racers from over 32 countries excel in showcasing their strengths navigating the tunnel-hull catamarans over the water. The key partners of the events include the Department of Seaports & Customs, Sharjah Police Headquarters; Sharjah Electricity & Water, Sharjah City Municipality; Sharjah Roads and Transport Authority; Sharjah Civil Defence and Sahara Centre. Other sponsors include Al Zahra Hospital as medical sponsor; Sharjah Media Corporation as media sponsor; Sharjah International Marine Sports Club as strategic partner; Hilton Sharjah, Royal Tulip the Act Hotel, Golden Tulip and Copthorne Hotel as hospitality partners. Nicolo di San Germano, Promoter, UIM F1 PowerBoat & Aquabike …

To celebrate the UAE’s 47th National Day, a host of events and festivities took place at Global Village recently. Expressing happiness on the occasion, Bader Anwahi, CEO, Global Village, said, “Commemorating the founding of this great nation, we at Global Village are proud of our tradition of bringing all people of the world together in order to celebrate and be happy. Our country has prospered and thrived on the premise of being a welcoming nation, open to all cultures and people, globally. Today, we reflect on the founding of the Union under the wise and visionary guidance of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan who brought our Emirates together and put us all on a path to peace and prosperity. The UAE has, within 47 years, become one of the most advanced, affluent, and well-developed countries in the world, thanks to our wise leadership.” An exclusive event for the National Day celebrations is the Operetta – ‘Zayed: Leader of the Humans’, that was performed by a cast of more than 25 and was a dedication to the father and founder of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. It was produced by Ornina Arts and Events and directed by Nasser Ibrahim, well-known across the region for developing some of the finest national and international shows. The Global Village fireworks have always been a favourite for UAE residents and tourists. For the 47th National Day, a mega-musical fireworks display also took place.