■ Carrie Chan
The 25th edition of DEAL 2019 show (Dubai Entertainment Amusement & Leisure), is now a permanent platform for the ardent followers of both arcade and virtual reality games. DEAL 2019 is poised to attract a mass of investors from overseas and especially GCC countries scouting for opportunities within the amusement and entertainment industry. The largest show in its category in the Middle East – DEAL was officially inaugurated by H. E. Buti Saeed Al Ghandi, Second Vice-Chairman of the Board, Dubai World Trade Centre Authority.

Ms DonnaBelle Reyes (L), the administration manager of IEC (the organizer of DEAL) expressed her best wishes to GTI Asia China Expo.

Featuring rich and diversified products

DEAL concluded its silver Jubilee edition with business transactions worth millions of dollars in just three days. Going by the feedback from several exhibitors and the thousands of visitors that were a part of the 3-day show, the Middle East entertainment and amusement industry is expected to go through a another growth phase.
Middle East’s and Africa’s entertainment industry and in particular Dubai is embedded with opportunities that arise due to the rising tourism numbers in the region. The total contribution of the travel and tourism sector to UAE’s GDP was an impressive AED 164.7 billion which translates to 11.1% of the total GDP in 2018. A figure expected to rise by 4.9% annually by 2027. Dubai alone witnessed 15.92 million international overnight visitors in 2018.

The organizers also held several meaningful conferences and attracted lots of attendees.
Taking advantages of the business opportunities in the very popular amusement & leisure in UAE and the Middle East market, DEAL Expo is the largest show in the Middle East and North Africa, and has been successfully held for 25 years. There were over 300 exhibitors at the show. Among them, over 37% were from China, and about 20% were first-time exhibitors. Exhibits covered both indoor and outdoor products, including kiddie rides, inflatable, water park equipment, VR&AR, climbing course equipment, redemption machines, crane machines, basketball games, shooting games, darts machines, bowling, simulators, table footballs and so on. Without  exception, VR games, shooting games, simulators and other experiencing products were hot as always.

37% of exhibitors were from China. All of them showed their new products at the show floor.
Consistent high praise from exhibitors

According to Sharif Rahman, CEO, International Expo-Consults LLC, “For the entertainment, leisure and amusement industry DEAL provides a unique opportunity in the market that isn’t available anywhere in the Middle East region. We have exhibitors from all over the world that bring their latest products, games, rides and other services to this market. For the last 25 years we have worked and have promoted the industry in the region and have made sure DEAL is the most anticipated event of its kind here. Our Silver Anniversary edition was a huge success for the exhibitors where most of them were able to achieve their required targets during the 3 days”.
Prakash Vivekanand, Managing Director, Amusement Services International added, “DEAL has always been a great platform for us for the last 20 years. It allows us to connect with the Middle Eastern region; it brings in people from the Asian continent as well, and so it gives us a mixed audience at the show. This year we exhibited a design stand where we created fun spaces and offered design solutions for upcoming entrepreneurs. This year’s show has been better than most years. We had a show and were able to meet with many customers from the Middle East, Africa, Pakistan, as well as a great number from Saudi Arabia.”

DEAL specially set the zone of America.
The special show saw 300+ exhibitors from close to 40 countries exhibited and vie for the thousands of visitors that came from over 100 plus countries. From the exhibitors there were 70 that had participated in DEAL for the first time this year. This year saw the many new technology companies including drones, robotics, VR, holographic arcade games that enthralled and captivated the Middle East audience.
According to Nabil Kassim, Founder & CEO, Warehouse of Games, “This year at DEAL, Warehouse of Games is proud to have the biggest booth. We’ve been attending the DEAL show for over 20 years now, and this year, we showed a new VR - based product with Hologate. We also had 19 other games which offered a lot of exciting experiences. The DEAL show is key to our success as this is where we display all our new products. We feel market conditions are only improving in the region and we hope to be more successful in the coming years.”
GTI demonstrated China’s amusement charm

DEAL 2019 also saw the first ever U.S.Pavilion in the history of the show. During the show, Shakir Farsakh, the Principal Commercial Officer in Dubai for the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, the trade and investment promotion arm of the U.S. government addressed companies from the U.S. pavilion at DEAL 2019. These entertainment giants from the U.S. were provided with an overview of the UAE market and he also elaborated the support system that his office can extend within this region.
MENALAC along with DEAL 2019 held the Leisure, Entertainment & Attractions Conference 2019. The first day of the conference, aptly titled CEO Conclave due to the several CEOs and industry stakeholders from across the globe in attendance, was focused on the status of the MENA leisure industry. The keynote speaker for the day was Bill Ernest, CEO, Saudi Entertainment Ventures (SEVEN) who took everyone through the current state of the market in Saudi Arabia and the various opportunities that have risen due to the recent changes in the Kingdom. The second day was more focused on the safety for themeparks, waterparks, FEC’s and play areas.
GTI’s general manager Angie Huang and English editor Carrie Chan flied to Dubai to attend this three-day show. At the show floor, we welcomed numerous professional buyers from Iraq, Pakistan, Lebanon, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, united Arab emirates, Spain, Turkey, Poland, Egypt, the United States, Algeria, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Iran, Australia, Syria and other countries and regions. Most of them were interested in kiddie rides, bumper cars, inflatable and VR products. Also, GTI’s team took part in the first-day’s reception dinner, and celebrated DEAL’s  sliver anniversary!

GTI’s managing director Angie Huang visited the booths of Robert’s and Mega Vending.
On March 27th, the curtains of the show successfully came down. Coming off a strong show, the show organisers revealed the dates for DEAL 2020 as 23rd to 25th March 2020 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
※The article is published in the GTI Magazine Issue No. 174 in April 2019