International Expo-Consults (IEC), an international show management company operating in the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region, is organising DEAL 2019, a high-profile event aimed at the African market
The show is scheduled to take place at the Dubai World Trade Centre, from 25-27 March 2019.
Sharif Rahman, CEO of International Expo Consults (IEC), said, “There is a massive behavioural change in African millennials. They are changing their spending patterns, from markets to malls, where they can eat, socialise and get entertained at Family Entertainment Centres (FEC)s apart from shopping.”
“With this change in behaviour, they also need engaging and immersive experience to support their entertainment appetite. This has given rise to new gaming concepts such as VR and now they are further engaged by robots who can serve them food and beverages,” he added.
The company stated that the population of Africa is set to grow to 2.3bn by 2050. However, in contrast to the rest of the world, its booming population is getting younger.
Experts believe that the next big thing for the entertainment and leisure industry, particularly in the African region, would be driven by virtual reality technology.
Several DEAL 2019 exhibitors from all over the world would present a wide range of concepts to be chosen by the African FECs and amusement operators.
“This is a great business opportunity for mall owners, real estate developers and other stakeholders in Africa, planning to launch or grow their unique projects embedded with a gaming/entertainment zone. DEAL 2019 will provide the right platform to create a win-win-win situation for the exhibitors, visitors and the end consumers who will experience these amazing concepts,” IEC CEO further explained.
“Virtual reality isn’t just for gamers, geeks and technophiles. Globally the number of theme parks adopting VR technology as part of their offerings to increase attendance is rising. While VR tech is still unfamiliar to most of the stakeholders in this industry, the paradigm shift is inevitable” he added.
“The African stakeholders who visit DEAL can also visit the VR Parks in UAE to know the potential and also to know how they are growing their revenues,” he concluded.
