Ad spending in Gulf will hit $5b this year

Dubai: Advertising expenditure in the Gulf is set to rise by 15 per cent to $5 billion by the end of this year, according to industry experts.

Khamis Mohammad Al Muqla, member of the International Advertising Association World Congress, said he expects advertising expenditure to keep growing.

"By the end of 2006 the advertising expenditure in the Gulf region will exceed $5 billion.

"It will exceed $1 billion in the UAE and Saudi Arabia," Al Muqla said.

He added that advertising expenditure grew 15 per cent last year to exceed $4.5 billion.

The lion's share of this expenditure went to the satellite television channels followed by the print mdia which dominates the markets in the Gulf.

He said that the UAE and Saudi Arabia are leaders in terms of the size of the advertising markets in the region, followed by Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.

He also pointed out that the size of Gulf advertising expenditure compared with the size of the population is still small, not exceeding $122 per capita while in other countries like Australia it exceeds $300.

Al Muqla said finding studies and market information is one of the main challenges facing the advertising industry.