Business & Money | Friday 15 December, 2017 2:35 am |

The who's who of the entertainment, hospitality and events industry from across the region, were flocking to Prolight and Sound Middle East, looking for the latest in events and entertainment products and solutions, from leading international brands. The majority of them were there with an eye of the lucrative  US$ 3 billion AV market in the region, which has expanded by a remarkable 75% between 2012 and 2016.

 

With the Middle East professional AV market enjoying a sustained period of explosive growth, the stage was set for the world's leading events and entertainment brands to showcase their wares at the region's premier dedicated trade platform for the industry.

 

According to research from Euromonitor International (EMI), the UAE’s professional AV market is estimated to value US$ 707 million by 2018, up from US$ 656.2 million in 2016, giving an idea of the scale of potential growth.

 

The GCC region, thanks to it's ongoing economic expansion and strategic investment plans, currently has 1,559 hotels, 142 shopping malls, and 245 exhibitions, all of which require the latest professional AV technologies and services to enhance the visitor experience and set themselves apart from regional and international competition.

 

To put things into perspective, the overall market for AV products and services in the Middle East is currently worth almost US$ 3 billion, having registered an incredible 76 percent spurt from 2012 to 2016.

 

The Gulf region is also home to 99,321 mosques, which make regular upgrades of public address and AV systems and are also opting for the latest digital models for broadcasting daily prayers. Meanwhile,the 34,302 educational institutions ranged across the region are also a big  and growing market for integrated AV systems as demand spikes for digital and integrated e-learning channels and systems.

 

Prollight and Sound Middle East 2017, also featured the inaugural Events Creation and Entertainment Development Forum, which saw 35 experts drawn from across the world, sharing their experiences and insights, presenting case studies and discussing international best practice norms and standards, as well as key issues and developments that affect the industry. The forum received extremely favourable review from delegates and industry professionals.

 

Prominent on the show floor were a combination of first-time and returning exhibitors including big names such as: Founding Partner Martin Professional, Bose, Monacor, Robe, FBT, GTD, Procom, Prolight Group, SES, Aviss, Unusual Rigging, Penn Elcom, Lavoce, Indu Electric, NMK Electronics, Prolab Trading and Venuetech.

 

The exhibition also saw the return of Stage On!, the live demo area where visitors get an up close look and feel of the latest AV equipment from the leading brands, Prolight + Sound Middle East, is the fifth leg of the international network of Prolight + Sound events worldwide, which brings the latest technologies and services for the entertainment and creation industries.