Motor show ‘the best ever draw’

JEDDAH, 29 December 2002 — A record 100,000 visitors thronged the Jeddah International Motor Show during its six-day run that ended on Friday night.

“The annual event’s visitor turnout broke all previous records,” a spokesman for the organizers said.

An official at the traffic police stand said a number of citizens visited and took a look at the exhibits that gave statistical information of accidents, and safe driving and road safety measures. Their location in the foyer added to the impact of public involvement.

Seven exhibitors launched their latest automobiles on Sunday — the day the show was opened by Minister of Communications Naser Al-Salloum. The show featured a whole range of attractions and events for the first time. The 4x4 and new Autotest courses attracted an estimated 10,000 spectators over the four-day activity and more than 1,000 on site at all times.

Equally successful were the events in the makeshift auditorium. On Monday, seven teams competed in the PitStop challenge, which had enthusiastic participation. Similar was the case with the competitive element of Enthusiasts vs. Professionals challenge.

The automotive theater set up at the site showed popular movies on Tuesday and Wednesday. On quiz night on Thursday, the auditorium was packed to capacity.

Among the highlights of the event was the display of cars by exhibitors in stands most imaginatively conceived. Introducing a Filipino designer at the Nissan stand, its executive Sadiq Ahmed said the designer spent days and weeks to come up with a stand that stood out and made the visitors turn back for a second look.

Both traditional and first-time exhibitors said they had a rewarding participation in the show. “One-to-one interaction helps a great deal in developing rapport for future transactions,” Imtiaz Hussain said on behalf of a Japanese exhibitor. “It was a great show and every moment of it was useful for us,” said Desmond Oosthuizen, general manager of a local company.

“The ‘ladies day’ on Thursday morning paid us rich dividends. Going by their queries, it was surprising to know that ladies are so well equipped with technical information. Although they don’t drive, they are an influential lot as they help their husbands and families buy the right cars,” an executive at the Toyota stand said. Al-Harithy Company for Exhibitions Ltd. (ACE), the organizers, announced that the 2003 event — that will mark the annual exhibition’s 25th anniversary — would run from Dec. 7-12.