Egypt
EIEC and politics largely settling in the
country has also prompted interest from
other international organisers, Denton
explains.
“A lot of the local organisers there are
selling or being bought up by the big
internationals,” he adds. “That’s happening
all over the world but there’s been quite a lot
of interest in Egypt recently.
“A lot of people have been looking over
the years. The Italians were looking four
or five years ago, the Germans are as well.
Between us and Informa we’re making very
good headway and it’s an exciting part of the
world.”
Hall adds that, while there are still
security concerns over the country from
exhibitors, the issue is more of a perception
than a reality, and more organisers are
beginning to look closely at the region. “I
think there’s going to be more competition
there in the near future and we’ll see if that’s
a good thing or a bad thing,” he concludes.
“The more that Egypt has international
activity the more it almost protects Informa’s
interests.
“If you’re the only show in town you
could end up becoming quite vulnerable if
someone comes to try and take you out and
steal the market. If you’ve got a bit more of
a fragmented market then you’re probably
more secure.”
Informa’s General Manager, Egypt, Hany
Khafagy makes a couple of extra points to
EW. He notes that Egypt now has “an orderly
functioning foreign exchange market
restored, with the exchange rate stable for
almost two years. This has allowed Egypt to
gain competitiveness”.
And, in terms of safety, Khafagy notes
that a Gallup Global Law and Order survey
placed Egypt as the 16th safest out of 135
countries. “Confidence,” he says, “is also
returning to Egypt as hotel reservations
in 2017 totalled 84m, up 155% from 2016.
Visitor numbers reached 8.3m, up from 5.4m
a year earlier, with arrivals from Europe
jumping 81%.
“Almost all our events reported very
positive growth in 2018, and the number of
Egyptian manufacturers has been growing
exponentially which reflects that overall the
economy is heading to the right direction.”
54
Issue 1 2019
Organiser’s
view
hmed Ghozzi (pictured
above), Chairman of
ACG-ITF one the biggest
trade fair organisers in
Egypt:
It was very obvious to us in ACG-
ITF, back in 2008, that international
organisers should be and will be
coming shortly to the Egyptian
market; you cannot neglect a
100m-plus population or the fact
that the country’s positioning on the
map means it can be an entry for the
African continent.
We had to get ready for that and
that is what positioned us now as
probably the only local organiser who
can talk the same language of the
international organisers.
In early 2008, we decided to
approach a few international
organisers for joint ventures and
that’s how it all started with Informa.
We kept on building success stories
one after the other with Informa.
In 2016 we agreed with DMG to
organise an Oil & Gas show - a sector
that DMG is great at - and we both
managed to produce EGYPS, which
has been ranked twice as one of the
most successful shows in the world.
Clearly, this market is ready for
International shows mainly targeting
the African region.
Like most markets, international
organisers will need a local partner
that knows everything and everyone,
at least for the first 2-3 years- until
they get full knowledge and insights
into the country.
Egypt is an excellent position to be
the gateway to Africa and technology
export, as well to promote investment
opportunities in the African
continent. With Egypt’s geographical
location and the focus of the President
and the Egyptian government, Egypt
must and will take advantage of that
to establish itself as the trading and
investment hub for Africa - which
is in my opinion one of the most
important markets in the next period
of time.
With a massive need for a good
venue that meets international
standards, in early 2018 Egypt
inaugurated a new state of the art
conference and exhibition facility
able to accommodate 40,000sqm of
indoor space as well as a 1,700-seat
conference facility.
Total investment exceeded LE2.2bn
(US$120m) - as stated by Wahid
Atalla- VP for the new venue.
Of course, challenges remain,
starting with creating worldwide
awareness to exhibitors and visitors,
ease of visa regulations. Not a great
deal of things but important at the
same time.
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk