The Hotel Show Dubai event director Christine Davidson says: “As we move towards the 16th edition of The Hotel Show Dubai we can see how much it has transformed into a content filled, informative, business generating forum where the industry meets to network and share insight.”

“This is such an exciting time in our industry and in this market here in the Middle East. Hotel and leisure development, build and investment is significant and will continue over coming years making it the perfect contract market for global suppliers,” she adds.

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) chief executive officer Issam Kazim also comments: “The Hotel Show is one of the most important annual events in our calendar at Dubai Tourism and has played a significant part in driving the hospitality sector by bringing hoteliers together, facilitating partnerships, improving market analysis, and understanding, and ensuring alignment with Dubai’s overall tourism vision.

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“Hotels and hospitality have a great part to play in realising Dubai’s Tourism Vision for 2020, which aims to welcome 20 million visitors per year by the start of the next decade. Dubai welcomed 13.2 million international overnight visitors in 2014, so while much progress has already been made, there is still much to achieve. Together, facilitated by the Hotel Show, we can reach and exceed our goals, and drive success and prosperity within the tourism industry as whole.”

Technology will also be a major feature for the first time in the show’s history. “There will also be, for the first time, a key focus on the big trend this year: technology. And it’s not a myth; the hotel industry is really starting to substantially invest in providing seamless and tech driven experiences for guests,” says Davidson.

Additionally, this year’s show will feature a Design Theatre, where architects and interior designers will reflect on the latest trends and ideas.

More than 600 companies and thousands of brands from more than 45 countries are expected to exhibit, and this year, the show will have even larger pavilions from Turkey, Portugal and China.

An exclusive new report recently published by Jones Lang LaSalle for The Hotel Show Dubai revealed that Dubai is set to see a massive increase of 28,000 new hotel rooms by 2018.

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