Manama: Autumn Fair, one of the oldest family shopping destinations, has emerged as one of the key trade and commercial events of Bahrain’s expo calendar. Under the patronage of the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism Zayed R. Alzayani, Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) Chief Executive Officer Dr. Nasser Ali Qaedi opened the 32nd edition of the Autumn Fair, in the presence of ambassadors, officials, and representatives of Informa Markets, the organizers of the event.
The nine-day shopping extravaganza running until December 21features 596 retailers, representing a 20 percent surge in new products on display this year. Items from 18 countries including Kuwait, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Poland, and Sudan will be available while eight countries – China, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Oman, Yemen, UAE, Kuwait – have their own national pavilion showcasing their best arts and crafts. Shoppers will be treated to an extensive variety of merchandise from across the globe at the Autumn Fair, including specialty food, fashion, beauty, home décor, technology, toys, textiles, and more.
“We are happy about the return of the Autumn Fair after a hiatus forced by the Corona pandemic,” Al Qaeda said.
“The return of this unique exhibition heralds the recovery of the exhibition industry in the Kingdom of Bahrain and its positive repercussions on the commercial and tourism movement in general.”
Al Qaedi commended the efforts by the organizers of the Autumn Fair “to ensure a good organization, attract exhibitors from a large number of countries, and fulfill the aspirations of visitors and shoppers, individuals and families who are looking forward to this exhibition with its competitive prices.”
“The coincidence of the Autumn Fair this year with the National Days of the Kingdom of Bahrain places the visit to the premises high on the plans of citizens and residents, in addition to the tourists and visitors who come here to enjoy the celebration of the National Day, including the events held by the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority,” he said.
“The Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority will spare no effort in providing all the necessary support to the various local, regional and international companies that are working to organize various events and activities in the Kingdom of Bahrain, due to the importance of the exhibition industry in achieving the ambitious goals of the Bahrain Tourism Strategy 2022-2026.”
He paid visits to the exhibitors and inquired about the facilities and hassle-free movement for the exhibitors and participating companies.
Now in its 32nd edition, the Autumn Fair is Bahrain’s largest and most popular consumer products show. The exhibition regularly attracts over 160,000 shoppers from Bahrain and beyond whilst acting as an important sourcing venue for distributors and agents in the Gulf region.
This year’s expo attracted big perfumery names from across the Middle East. Spices and honey traders, rugs, furniture, clothing, leather goods, nuts, traditional dresses for women, and jewelry are other highlights of the expo.
“This exhibition is one of the oldest exhibitions being held for many years. The event which offers free entry this year is itself a big promotion that will help surge in visitors,” Jawad Al Hawaj, General Manager at Al Hawaj and Sons told Bahrain News Agency.
“We see a lot of movement in the market of people from different countries especially across the border, which supports the businesses. It is a very old and traditional event and families wait anxiously for this exhibition every year.”
During the last two years, he said, people had to be indoors and due to Covid-19 restrictions, there wasn’t much business movement. We are looking forward to seeing all the customers back at the event which emerges as a family shopping festival with lots of trade turnover.
Yemen enjoys the largest presence in spices, honey and perfumery traders occupying the main stalls.
“We have been participating in Autumn Fair since 2005 and it has become a yearly must-attend event for us,” Abdullah Jalabain, a general manager whose stall is displaying with over 100 different types of spices, nuts, dry fruit, honey and other eatables told BNA.
“We are very happy coming back to Bahrain and seeing not much pandemic restrictions in place. Every year we get good business from this expo and we hope this year with entry there would be more visitors from Bahrain and neighbouring countries.”
The organisers say that in line with Bahrain’s green level of its traffic light system, the Autumn Fair will be open to both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. Following government guidelines established for the event, online registration for each attendee is mandatory this year, regardless of age.
Considering the usual success of the fair, show organisers Informa Markets strongly encourage all interested shoppers to pre-register their visit at www.theautumnfair.com to ease the entry process on-site. Families intending to visit the event with their children are required to register each family member’s attendance online.
All pre-registered visitors will obtain a digital QR code on their registered email which they can present on-site for quick scanning and entry. The new process will help maintain social distancing by reducing any queuing at the event.
For the first time in 32 years, the digital badge will grant free access to all visitors on all nine days of the event. Shoppers are required to keep their QR code on their mobile phone should they wish to visit the Autumn Fair multiple times.
Food trucks, music, game zone, farmers’ market and a completely new event look welcome visitors this year. Moreover, a star guest is also making a return appearance this year, the well-known mascot ‘Dabdoub the bear’ with whom the youngest will be able to take photographs throughout the event.
With National Day celebrations taking place during the Autumn Fair, an event-long programme is scheduled to entertain Bahrain residents during this special time of the year including several traditional Arabic and Bahraini bands and a DJ. Full details are available on the event social media channels.
