• Home
• /
• Business

Travel food caterers to showcase their products at Dubai exhibition

DUBAI — The number of travel catering companies that will showcase their products and services in next week's exhibition dedicated to the $18 billion worldwide in-flight catering industry has grown significantly.

The new exhibitors at the second edition of ITCA Dubai Exhibition and Conference, on December 11-13, make up 60 per cent of the participating companies from 23 countries, said Bilal Al Rais, project manager for exhibitions at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

"Opportunities in travel catering have not just expanded, but have multiplied in recent years," said Helal Saeed Al Marri, director-general of DWTC, the event organiser.

Al Rais said the exhibitors will represent key markets in the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian subcontinent. He added that the industry will showcase its food, foodservice, hospitality, in-flight suppliers to airlines and airports, cruise caterers and operators.

The event has partnered with ITCA, or International Travel Catering Association, for this year's exhibition sponsored by Emirates Airlines, according to a Press statement.

Accompanying the show, which will be held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, is an ITCA conference entitled "The Middle East: The New Market."

The organisers said the UAE's emergence as a central travel hub coupled with the increasing volume of people travelling through the Middle East have made the region important to companies engaged in catering services.

Dubai's aviation sector alone has invested Dh132 billion in various airport projects and helped passenger traffic grow by 14.4 per cent, the statement said.

Al Marri said there is no doubt that the Middle East is the world's next major travel growth market, considering the launch of new airlines and major investments in aviation, sea travel and railroad networks.

"ITCA Dubai taps into the potential of this market by bridging the needs and demands of the industry," he added.