DUBAI, 12 October 2004 — GITEX is an event in a constant state of evolution. In many ways it’s a classic example of the proverb, “Too many cooks spoil the broth.” This year the show also definitively proved that bigger is not necessarily better. With 850-plus exhibitors booking floor space at GITEX and nearly 1,000 exhibitors listed in the GITEX catalog, many visitors commented that they were simply overwhelmed.
It appeared that the show is trying to be everything to everyone and that’s impossible. Some of the most interesting new hardware and applications were from small, first time exhibitors found at national pavilions. Unfortunately, these exhibitors tended to be the least prepared to deal with the huge crowds at GITEX. Often the English of the staff on those stands was poor and/or their Arabic was non-existent. Small companies demonstrating hardware solutions generally brought just a few samples of their products. When those samples were damaged by careless GITEX visitors, then they had nothing to demo.
Many vendors were eager to discuss their issues concerning business development. For a lot of exhibitors one of the primary reasons for doing GITEX is business development. Too many exhibitors saw the same visitors they’d seen in other years. Location seemed to be everything this year and small vendors placed at the back of halls were losers. Small exhibitors claimed that the large stands at the front of the halls gobbled visitors’ time and attention leaving only crumbs for them. Some vendors had already decided to withdraw from the GITEX circus. For example, this year Hitachi Data Systems chose to exhibit at Storage World Middle East claiming that they garnered better business leads from that show than from GITEX. Although to be correct, some HDS solutions were demoed by Naizac.
An enormous number of exhibitors were eager to attract the attention of small and medium sized businesses (SMBs), but representatives of SMBs had the most difficulty navigating both Dubai and GITEX. The trade show is billed as serving the region but unless the attendees were from Dubai, the cost of coming to the show was astronomical. Hotels in particular did their best to gouge GITEX visitors. All other services were either at a premium or unobtainable.
Transportation in Dubai was unacceptable this year. GITEX attendees reported waits of up to three hours for a taxi at the end of each show day. Many exhibitors walked over five kilometers to find a taxi rather than wait. Even those with vehicles often had to park more than a kilometer from the World Trade Center. As this was a business exhibition, everyone walked in 35 degrees C. plus temperatures wearing jackets and dress shoes and carrying bags filled with brochures, catalogues and other materials. It wasn’t pretty.
To combat the taxi nightmare, visitors began arriving at the show after 11 a.m. and leaving before 4 p.m. This was unproductive for the visitors and made exhibitors very unhappy but it was the only way to cope. It was apparent that there was a huge taxi shortage. When taxi drivers were asked why they were avoiding the trade show the drivers explained that traffic in the area was a constant mess and they made very little money while stuck in traffic jams. Even worse, their companies were demanding receipts of at least 350 dirhams daily during the show. Arab News surmounted the transport disaster by paying a taxi driver 100 dirhams daily to appear at the required time each evening.
Individuals with special needs faired poorly at GITEX. Wheelchair access to numerous stands was restricted because stands continue to be on platforms several centimeters off the ground. Also, most exhibits were designed to be viewed above waist height only and the technology involved could not be moved. Vendors demonstrating accessibility solutions utilizing ICT were nearly nonexistent at GITEX. That’s really sad for an event in the Middle East where resources for the disabled are in short supply and IT could make life changing impact.
Everyone at the show was weighed down by tons of paper. Once again too many trees died for GITEX. This event, which is focused on IT, still relies primarily on paper for information dissemination. When catalogues or pamphlets were requested in digital format, they frequently were unavailable. Many vendors couldn’t even download to a memory stick. Arab News carried back to Saudi Arabia 50+ kg of paper from GITEX. Thanks for that support goes out to Emirates. It’s also necessary to thank Dubai Internet City for their assistance. They made available to journalists Panadol, Red Bull, chocolate bars and other essential survival tools. We couldn’t have made it through the show without them.
