Domotex Middle East will take place for the first time on 28 - 30 May 2006 in Dubai.

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26 Mar 2006

DOMOTEX is celebrating the launch of a new international fair. On 28 May 2006 Dubai will host the first DOMOTEX Middle East: 'Following the success of DOMOTEX in Hannover, Germany, and the equally huge success of DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR in Shanghai it seems only logical that we should choose Dubai as the next stage in the expansion of DOMOTEX', explains Stephan Ph. Kühne, Board Member of Deutsche Messe AG in Hannover. The venue of the new trade show will be the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, which enjoys a central location as well as ultra-modern facilities. Even in its very first year, Deutsche Messe AG expects the event to attract some 300 exhibitors from all over the world and fill about 12,000 square meters of space. The market echo is proving very favorable, with 70 percent of the available floor space already booked and a full four months yet to go until the show begins. In terms of attendance, a total of about 10,000 trade visitors are expected.

Keynote displays at the event will include hand-woven and machine-made rugs and carpets, textile and resilient floor coverings, parquet and wooden flooring, laminates, natural stone and marble flooring, as well as ceramic tiles and the entire range of fitting, laying, maintenance and applications technology. The visitor target groups include the wholesale and retail carpet and floor covering trade, decision-makers from the contracting sector, project planners, architects, interior designers and interior decorators, as well as property developers and their buyers, including project managers and the skilled trades such as carpet fitters and other flooring specialists.

Until now there has been no comparable fair in the entire region around the Persian Gulf. It is an interesting market embracing the United Arab Emirates, including the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi-Arabia and Iran, India, Pakistan, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. DOMOTEX Middle East is designed to help exhibitors new to this market access potential business on a marketplace which holds huge opportunities. Experts estimate that between now and 2010 investment in property development in the UAE will amount to approx. 50 billion US dollars. Spectacular developments such as the manmade islands 'The Palm' and 'The World' off the coast of Dubai will be followed by further splendid hotel projects, awe-inspiring shopping malls and private residences - and there is more to come.

Dubai is the trade and business centre of the whole Gulf region: 75 percent of all goods imported to the United Emirate States pass through Dubai. In addition to the biggest artificial harbor in the world, the Emirate also boasts innumerable free trade zones. Since 2002 it has also been possible for foreigners to own property there (on the basis of a 99-year lease). This development has meant that foreigners are now at the forefront of demand for more varied, high-quality furnishings and interior design. Demand for high quality floor coverings has been generated by this change. Thus, companies in the floor coverings industry can make important business contacts and big gains on this market - and DOMOTEX Middle East will open the door for them.

Just how big these gains might be becomes evident by taking a look at the first DOMOTEX venture outside Germany, in Shanghai. Following its premiere in 2002, DOMOTEX asia/Chinafloor quickly grew from 15,000 m² to more than triple this figure, at 46,000 m². All signs point to continued strength growth ahead, with Deutsche Messe AG predictions calling for a 2006 rise in booked space of about 50 percent, bringing the total display area up to 69,000 m². Already today, DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR is indisputably the biggest international trade show for carpets and floor coverings throughout the East Asian marketplace.