Expo Centre Sharjah (ECS) has announced its upcoming projects and plans to grow and improve the exhibitions industry and strengthen its contribution to the expansion of Sharjah’s economy.
The ECS plans to increase its operational capacities, enhance exhibition areas and venues, attract a wider range of international exhibitors, and curate new high-caliber exhibitions, especially in the automotive sector, to promote the emirate’s business tourism potential and open up growth prospects across various sectors.
These strategic objectives, which were presented to the ECS Board of Directors during a meeting, are intended to satisfy the expectations of the business community by offering top-notch venues for product showcases that adhere to the finest worldwide standards.
Sheikh Majid bin Faisal Al Qasimi, First Deputy Chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), was present at the meeting, which was chaired by Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of the SCCI and Expo Center Sharjah.
Along with members of the Center’s board of directors, department heads, and managers, Walid Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, Second Deputy Chairman of the Sharjah Chamber, and Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, CEO of the Expo Centre Sharjah, were also in attendance.
Expo Sharjah’s revenue performance for 2023 was thoroughly analyzed during the meeting, along with the accomplishments of the year, which demonstrated a significant increase over 2022.
The Center saw a discernible increase in both local and international events, with about 50 exhibitions, and visitors, totaling over 2.5 million. It has also moved quickly to welcome the first quarter of 2024, planning several specialized exhibitions in a variety of industries.
At the ECS board meeting, representatives discussed Expo Sharjah’s successful results and performance over the previous three years, emphasizing advancements in sales and marketing.
As part of a comprehensive plan to streamline its operational workflows and advance its role in bolstering Sharjah’s economy, retail and industrial growth, and the promotion of local products, discussions also covered goals to expand the ECS’s exhibition areas and venues.
The meeting also emphasized how critical it is to step up efforts to support small- and medium-sized business owners and entrepreneurs in the exhibitions industry.
The “Emirates Perfumes and Oud” and “Jewels of Emirates” platforms, which were held at Expo Centre Sharjah during the Watch & Jewellery Middle East Show and the Emirates Perfumes and Oud Exhibition, provided valuable insights for this study. These initiatives are essential to the ECS’s ongoing commitment to supporting youth initiatives and entrepreneurship by increasing their visibility on a variety of exhibition platforms.
Abdullah Sultan Al Owais emphasized that the Expo Center Sharjah is crucial to achieving the strategic goal of economic diversification for the emirate.
He made the point that the Center’s consistent success in bringing in thousands of domestic and foreign guests solidifies its standing as a leading business hub and the perfect venue for meeting the needs of the business community and creating chances for networking and cooperation between businesses, investors, specialists, and leaders in various industries around the globe.
Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, for his part, stated that the exhibition industry’s recent resurgence of vitality reinforces its position as a crucial pillar of economic development. Expo Center Sharjah, he continued, is anticipating a new stage marked by an increase in the number of events it organizes in a variety of industries.
Al Midfa reported that several excellent exhibitions and shows with encouraging signs were staged and hosted by the Expo Center Sharjah in the first quarter of 2024.
The accomplishments listed in the ECS Calendar of Events for 2024 were discussed during the meeting, with an emphasis on the metrics and results reached by significant exhibitions in the first quarter of the year. The Sharjah Real Estate Exhibition – ACRES 2024 and the Watch & Jewellery Middle East Show were both notable events.
The preliminary findings of the follow-up investigation, which was conducted to track the Ramadan Nights Exhibition’s performance in terms of visitor attendance and sales figures, were also displayed by the ECS board. Within the context of the Sharjah Ramadan Festival, they emphasized the exhibition’s contribution to retail enhancement, sales boost, and domestic tourism promotion.