Travel Catering Expo

• 21 hosted buyers from 9 countries confirmed participation

• New show co-located with Airport Show and GALF

• Over 1000 trade visitors expected at debut TCE

• Significant GCC share in $15 billion global travel catering market

• Five per cent annual growth in travel catering business

• Airports & airlines eyes catering services expansion

The inaugural edition of Travel Catering Expo (TCE), co-located with the 2014 editions of the Airport Show and Global Airport Leaders’ Forum (GALF) has generated an exceptional regional response with key decision-makers from 21 airport operators, civil aviation authorities, airlines and flight caterers from 9 countries confirming their attendance at the event. Held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) from May 11 to 13, Travel Catering Expo, will gather leading global suppliers, caterers and experts to provide a dedicated platform for the region to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the aviation catering business, thus ensuring the sector mirrors the growth and success of the region’s thriving aviation industry.

More than 40 exhibitors from UAE, Turkey, Jordan, China, Bahrain Italy, Slovakia, Spain, France, UK, USA and The Netherlands, amongst other countries are expected to make the inaugural TCE the most appealing and beneficial platform for professionals from this key component of the aviation industry.

TCE organisers, Reed Exhibitions Middle East, said the trade event will benefit from participation by over 1,000 trade visitors from all the major airports and travel catering businesses in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region.

The newest travel catering-dedicated B2B platform will see the participation of highly-influential and key decision-makers from 21 airport operators, civil aviation authorities, airlines and catering-related organisations from 9 countries.  The countries which will be represented at TCE under the Hosted Buyers Programme, designed to facilitate meetings buyers and suppliers, are Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Mauritius, South Africa, Oman, Tunisia, Libya, and UAE.

Daniyal Qureshi, Director of Airport Show, GALF and TCE, said: “TCE will be the ideal platform for travel catering suppliers to understand regional markets,   as well as act as the best source for regional authorities to source their requirements. The huge expansion programme of airports and airlines in the region is enlarging the scope of business opportunities for the global travel catering industry and TCE is the platform to network with decision makers and generate business leads for a wide range of products, services, solutions and technology.”

Travel Catering Expo will be held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, and is supported by Emirates Flight Catering, Food Point, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) and Dubai Airports.

TCE will enable participants to tap the high-potential region whose share in the $15 billion travel catering market has been rising fast above the global average growth of five per cent due to the unbridled expansion of airports, airlines and route networks.

According to IATA, the Middle East’s airlines carried over 144 million passengers on their scheduled services in 2012. Last year, UAE airports handled about 90 million passengers, making it the most dynamic and rapidly expanding travel market. The Middle East is expected to handle 400 million passengers by 2020. In 2015, Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi airports will have a combined capacity of 190 million passengers annually.

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 million passengers, four times their current capacity.

Visitors will have plenty of choice to explore at TCE in terms of products and technologies that come handy in managing the growing volume of catering services for air travelers. The expo will showcase Beverage, Food Warming and Refrigeration Equipment, Trolleys, Commercial Catering, Cleaning and Dishwashing Equipment, Food Packaging, Processing, Preparation and Preservation Equipment, Industrial Laundry Equipment Logistics and Transportation Services. The other segments are Tableware, Chinaware, Disposable Crockery, Cutlery, Trays, Tableware, Food and Beverage, Accessories, Linens, Toiletries and Travel Amenities.

The expo visitors will include chefs, consultants, food & beverage managers, health & safety managers, in-flight service managers, operations managers, procurement managers, production managers and purchasing managers from airports, hospitality, airlines, charter and business jet operators, cruise operators, flight catering and large scale catering companies.