Culture & Education | Tuesday 8 September, 2015 2:15 am |

International Expo Consults (IEC) part of Falak Holding, stated that Sign and Graphic Imaging - SGI Dubai 2016 show is 85 percent sold out due to sheer volumes of high exhibitor interest in the show. Exhibitors at SGI Dubai 2015 had witnessed the rapid growth surge in ‘Sign and Graphic’ industry sector in the region. SGI Dubai has been the official Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) event for four consecutive years. 

“We are delighted to state that SGI Dubai 2016 show almost sold out this year. The industry in the Middle East is growing at a rapid pace and we have seen a lot of interest from the exhibitors from across the globe. Key markets especially UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have created a huge demand within the sign, graphic and imaging industry due to several high-end malls, new airports, trade exhibitions and launch of many other upscale clusters,” said Abdul Rahman Falaknaz, Chairman of IEC.

The ‘SGI Dubai 2016’, the 19th edition of the show will be held from January 10th to 12th at the Halls 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. This forum will also include seminars and workshops conducted by industry experts. The show will have a dedicated pavilion for the digital signage industry. SGI Dubai 2015, an official DSF event welcomed over 400 global exhibitors from across 34 countries and registered over 12,781 trade visitors from 78 countries.

“We strongly believe that our exhibitors at the show in the previous years have had a very good response from the trade visitors and have decided to come in large numbers for our show next year. We will support their demand with an even larger floor space at the show. This indicates that there is a huge demand within the Middle East and African markets and especially after Dubai’s Expo 2020 win - the markets have become more positive. This is a great indicator of the sign of good times and also shows that the industry is growing at a faster pace as compared to previous years,” added Mr.Falaknaz.

The digital signage industry alone in UAE is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 22% from 2015 to 2020 as per a recent report. Utilisation of digital signage in retail, public infrastructure, and hospitality verticals, combined with technological breakthroughs in display screens are factors which will see a surge in the market. An upswing in data dependent analytics, rising spending on marketing and increasing intensification in digital advertising media is a fuelling component to boost the digital signage market alone as per the research. 

SGI Dubai 2016 encompasses all signage and graphic solutions and is an important channel which showcases products and services where one can interact with the leading players in the signage, graphic imaging, screen & digital printing industries.

“Our exhibitors have pledged to be part of next year’s show which will be a much larger event than this year. We are proud to say that we are the largest show in this category across the Middle East and Africa region. Positive vibes and feedback from our exhibitors also gives a lot of confidence to create another successful show for them in 2016 at an even larger scale,” added Mr.Falaknaz.

Sign and Graphic Imaging Dubai (SGI Dubai) is an ideal converging point where visitors and exhibitors can influence and engage with architects, sign makers, print and production manufacturers, media agencies, real-estate developers, brand and image consultants among others.

“The SGI Dubai 2015 show surpassed last year’s trade visitor numbers in the first two days of the show. The trade visitors were serious customers and had attended the show with the intention of placing large orders for the innovative products on display. The quality of visitors who were present at this edition of SGI Dubai was amongst the best we have ever seen and we expect the trend to continue in 2016 and years to come. We had a strong turnout from across the GCC as well as East Africa, the Sub Continent, US, Europe, Asia among other demographics,” said Mr. Sharif Rahman, CEO, IEC.