One of the world’s busiest trade fair hubs, Dubai welcomes visitors with a combination of a heat wave, sandstorm and calls to prayer. As a trade fair location, the city offers both exhibitors and visitors a well-functioning, comfortable setting – and not just climate-wise.
Wulff Entre has been organizing Finnish companies’ participations in BIG5 yearly since 2003, and for me this was the second time on-site. My first BIG5 trip was already five years ago, so a little update on the state of the event and on the markets was very welcome.
Dubai acts as a gateway to the growing markets of the Gulf of Persia and North Africa, and BIG5 has for years been an excellent networking event for meeting professionals in the construction industry, for hearing the latest news of the market, and for getting to know the latest products and trends in the industry. Especially in the construction industry, Dubai’s attractiveness will be further enhanced by the World Expo, which will be held in the city in 2020. Other industries are clearly also doing well, an example of which is the Dubai Healthcare City project, whose focus is on healthcare research, development and education.
In the GCC countries of the Gulf of Persia (Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi-Arabia, Omar and Qatar), billions of euros will be invested in energy and infrastructure projects in the coming years. In particular, the new regulations for promoting sustainable development in construction offer entirely new possibilities for producers of energy-saving materials and products and for suppliers of new ecological solutions. And as we know, Finland certainly has a lot of know-how in this sector!
BIG5 is a huge brand, and apart from Dubai, adjacent fairs are held in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Indonesia. Entre’s team is already working hard on the next BIG5, whose space agreements are currently being negotiated with exhibitors. In relation to this, the beginning of the year will see a seminar on Middle East, as well as scouting out of Finnish journalists for the next Dubai trip.
This post has been originally posted in Finnish 8.12.2014. Translation by Annemari Kettunen.