Gitex grows year after year

DUBAI (WAM): Ever since it was launched in 1981, Gitex has been the gateway of information and communications technology into the Middle East, and has been the launch pad of some of the world’s most popular products, such as Windows 7. "Not only has a successful Gitex year after year helped Dubai steal some of the spotlight from Silicon Valley, Vancouver and Seoul, it has also given millions of tourists another reason to visit the emirate," commented Khaleej Times in its editorial on Saturday. Each passing year has seen an increased number of participants and visitor footfall, with 2014 seeing over 142,000 ICT professionals from over 150 countries, a statistic that puts Gitex among the top 15 trade shows across the world in terms of visitors. Over the years, Gitex has diversified itself from being merely a platform for traders and businessmen to showcase and sell their products, and has now developed into a multinational and multi-cultural business venue that companies use as a means to engage directly with competitors and consumers alike with live webcasts of events and conferences, live blogs, lucky draws, and deals and discounts you can’t resist. The event takes place in two phases: Gitex Shopper from September 27 to October 4, and Gitex Technology Week from October 12 to October 16. If you visit the first one, don’t be surprised if you buy a phone and get a TV free, or perhaps a baby laptop free with its daddy. It’s normal. Some kind souls may even be willing to deliver the goods at your doorstep in India. You should consider yourself lucky if you find a few inches of space to stand. The second event is more like science fiction coming alive, something Arthur Clarke or Isaac Asimov would have written. If you are not among the hundreds of sales representatives exchanging visiting cars, holding meetings over coffee, attending any of the conferences – or a journalist typing out a story sitting in the media hub – you should perhaps walk over to the latest air projector, or the audio system that directs sound like lasers, or the television that runs on voice command. Bowls of chocolates and lozenges across stalls, along with super-luxury cars both inside and outside the venue, will keep you busy. "Walking through Gitex is like walking through the future," according to rapper and entrepreneur Curtis Jackson, also known as 50 Cent. The paper added that over 80 exhibitors have registered for Gitex Shopper, while the exhibitor list for Gitex Technology runs into 28 pages. "We have decided we won’t count." "There was a time when a single hall was more than enough for Gitex. Today, you only wish the Dubai World Trade Centre was bigger," It concluded. – Emirates News Agency, WAM – http://www.wam.ae/en/news/general/1395270169686.html