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Exhibition Events to
go Online Soon

DUBAI - A new trend looks set to change the way exhibitions are organised. Exhibition events will be staged on the World Wide Web, making it a powerful marketing for sales success in future.

Viritix.com, the Middle East’s first 3-D virtual exhibition and conference for the IT industry may soon put an end to those tiresome trips to events. Visitors will be able to attend the event without leaving their workstation.

Visitors at the Viritix.com can virtually visit stands, chat live with exhibitors, attend a conference, view presentations and download product details.

“In a time of the economic cycle when companies are more concerned about the return on investment (ROI), Viritx.com will give exhibitors access to more visitors and save them millions of dollars,” said Khaled Eid Managing Director of Dubai-based World Development Forum, organiser of the event. However, he said that speakers and sponsors at the event could only be confirmed by the end of April.

“More than the event itself, the concept is a major breakthrough for the exhibition industry, financially,” said Eid.

Companies across the world spend close to $32 billion annually in conferences alone, according to Meetings & Conventions magazine.

Other industry statistics claim exhibitors spend an average of $212 for each visitor they reach in a trade show, but only $35 per visitor at virtual events. Tradeshow Week magazine estimates that mid-to-large-sized companies spend about $550,000 every year on physical trade shows.

“With the global economic slowdown, IT companies are forced to do more with less to reduce expenses while increasing the marketing efforts to maintain their market-share,” he said. “In addition to cost-effectiveness, virtual exhibitions offer many more options such as online tracking and follow-up on leads with an intelligent metrics and reporting system,”
said Eid.

Moreover, as the virtual event have no specific timings, Eid says such undertakings mark the beginning of a major shift in the way such events are conducted. “I do not feel that virtual events will be a direct competition to the physical event. They just add value,” he explained.

The event on www.viritix.com goes live from May 19-21.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com