Air catering in Gulf region set to undergo huge growth

Dubai: There will soon be more slices of the aviation catering pie for new companies in the Gulf, thanks to booming airport development in the region.

The Middle East and North African (Mena) air travel catering industry is already valued at $500 million a year and is expected to grow at an average rate of about six per cent annually.

Passenger numbers are forecast to grow at 6.7 per cent between 2005 and 2009, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

"With an increasing number of people visiting and passing through the Middle East, more catering companies will be attracted to the region," said Helal Saeed Al Marri, director-general of the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).

Airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Muscat, Kuwait, Manama and Jeddah are working on various projects to cope with the rising air traffic.

Opportunities for food and non-food suppliers have expanded in recent years with the launch of new airlines and huge investments in the aviation sector, said Lee Walton of the International Travel Catering Association (ITCA).

He said members of his organisation are looking to increase their presence in Arab countries, Africa and South Asia.

Dubai's first catering industry event, Travel Catering 2006, which is starting at DWTC today, has attracted 123 companies from 25 countries. Of these, 72 per cent are from outside the UAE.

Cultural challenges, like serving halal food to Muslim travellers are among the issues that will be the focus of a conference taking place alongside the exhibition.

"Mena Travel Catering has definitely responded to a strong need in the market by bringing together major foreign suppliers with local partners," Al Marri said.

Sultan Al Accad, managing director of UAE group Al Accad and one of the exhibition sponsors, said he is focussing on the air travel catering business as a new growth area.

Al Accad mainly supplies non-food items to the hotel industry but expects the travel segment will constitute about 50 per cent of the group's total business in the next two years.