Travel catering set to grow with Middle East airport expansion
Guest Writers are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the specific writer directly
Travel catering is receiving a boost with the growth of air travelers expected due to huge expansion of airports and airline fleets in the Middle East region. This is also being witnessed across the Arabian Gulf states.
According to IATA, the Middle East’s airlines carried over 144 million passengers on their scheduled services in 2012 and UAE topped regional list for passengers carried with 40.6 m. The Middle East is expected to handle 400 m passengers by 2020. In 2015, Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi airports will have a combined annual capacity of 190 m passengers. Airbus predicts the Middle East fleet will treble in size by 2028, while Boeing forecasts Middle Eastern airlines’ requirement of 2,340 aircraft by 2029. By 2020, Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad will have the capacity to carry nearly 200 m passengers: four times their current capacity.
With the huge growth potential, there is a need to expand the scope of the travel catering industry. In line with this need, the new Travel Catering Expo (TCE-2014) will highlight a much-needed platform for showcase of products, services, solutions and technology.
Daniyal Qureshi, director of Travel Catering Expo said: “This huge surge in passenger numbers will create a significant growth in the region’s travel catering requirements. More than 50 exhibitors are expected to attend the inaugural edition from UAE, Turkey, Jordan, China, Bahrain, France, Sri Lanka, Canada and The Netherlands, amongst other countries.”
The event is schedule to be held alongside the Global Airport Leaders’ Forum (GALF) at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) from 11 to 13 May 2014.
Comments are closed.