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 This year’s Media and Marketing Show will see a 10% increase in participation, according to its organiser, the Domus Group.
This is of course in the same week that another Dubai show, Cityscape, recorded a 50% fall in visitor numbers, and at the end of 12 months which saw the global economic recession roll over much of the Middle East, and the UAE in particular.
But hey, that doesn’t matter – everything’s good!
“The current financial crisis has affected all the sectors, especially the media, but last-minute enquiries from prospective participants have boosted our confidence and we have recorded a double-digit increase in the number of exhibitors,” said Maysoon Abulhoul, MD of the Domus Group, quoted in Emirates Business 24/7.
“Under the current circumstances, this 10 per cent increase in participation is a reflection of the growth in the media sector that seems to be on an upward climb in the past quarter of the year,” she added.
Right.
We’ve made our extreme scepticism with the MMS organisers’ Pollyanna impression very clear before – especially given last year’s rather lacklustre effort.
It’s also a shame that – in our opinion – Domus can’t be a bit more realistic about the show’s prospects, particularly given that Cityscape’s organisers came right out and told the world about that show’s dramatic fall in visitors.
However, we’ll be heading along to MMS ourselves (assuming they still let AdNation in...), so we’ll be able to report back on the situation on the ground.
And if it turns out that there really are more exhibitors – we won’t count plumbing supplies firms – and more significantly, more visitors, we’ll be happy to admit our wrong-ness.
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