Last Word
Ashley
Roberts
The portfolio director and acting general
manager for Omanexpo speaks on
why it’s time for the exhibition industry
to lose the stigma and expand into the
Middle East
T
he future of exhibitions is
bright in the Middle East,
with huge investments being
undertaken by governments
and businesses in the region.
In the most recent UFI
global exhibitions report, it
calculated that the Middle
East alone serves 125,000
exhibiting companies, 6.3m
visitors and supports more
than 31,000 jobs.
With precarious political
and economic situations in
the West, many of the Top
20 Exhibition Organisers are
looking East to secure and
grow their future business.
This confidence is
cemented by the actions
of UFI, which last
month announced a new
partnership with Oman
Convention and Exhibition
Centre for the first
“The Middle
East has many
unexplored
sectors in which
events have yet to
be launched.”
66 — December
Exhibition Management
Degree (EMD) Programme
in Muscat and will be
bringing its international
conference to Oman in
November 2020.
Against the struggle and
competition of the packed
marketplace of Europe,
organisers often battle with
each other for airtime and
marketing spend. However,
the Middle East has many
unexplored sectors in
which events have yet to be
launched.
The potential is huge
and nowhere is this truer
than Oman. The impact
of the Oman Vision 2040
powered by His Majesty
Sultan Qaboos bin Said,
has seen a new region-
wide development of
infrastructure including
a new airport and state-
of-the-art exhibition
and conference centre.
Developments such as these
have had a singularly positive
impact on the exhibition
industry in the region –
something I’m not sure can
be said for every government
in the Western world.
Many places in the Middle
East are becoming much
more accessible for UK
» PRESENT
OMAN EXPO ACTING
GENERAL MANAGER:
» APRIL 2019-PRESENT
OMAN EXPO PORTFOLIO
DIRECTOR:
» DECEMBER 2017 - APRIL
2019
GES DIRECTOR AND
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT:
» DECEMBER
2016-SEPTEMBER 2017
INNOVATION ENTERPRISE
VICE PRESIDENT:
» JUNE 2012-OCTOBER 2016
DMG GROUP DIRECTOR:
» MAY 2008-MAY 2012
OCEAN MEDIA GROUP EVENT
DIRECTOR:
citizens and offer more
opportunities to talented
exhibition professionals who
are more entrepreneurial in
spirit.
In the past, heading to the
UAE was a quick way for the
international community to
‘get ahead’ and make a quick
tax-free buck with a two-year
deadline. Today, the region
is home to almost 200,000
Brits living in the UAE, a
huge increase from 20,000
in 2008 - and they’re not
leaving.
Political instability of
Europe and the US is driving
up the expat community
who are now looking to plant
roots in the Middle East, at
least for the middle-term.
Where exhibitions add US
$1.4bn (£1.09 bn) to the
Middle East economy and an
enormous appetite to grow
this further, there has never
been more potential for
individuals to make the leap
and build a long-term career
in the region.
With so much on offer for
exhibition organisers, not
forgetting of course the
promise of sunnier climes,
its perhaps time you took a
fresh look at the Middle East
for your future. EN