During the first half of 2017, the National Program for Exhibitions and Conferences issued approximately 165 licenses to hold consumer goods exhibitions out of a total of 269 applications, A report released by the program revealed that the number of licensed exhibitions increased by 22% compared to last year, attracting more than 3.4 million visitors.

The report indicated that 143 of these exhibitions were held in exhibition centers, hotels, shopping malls, and event halls, while 22 were held in temporary facilities, Riyadh ranked first with 52% of the consumer goods exhibitions held in the first half of the year, followed by the Eastern Province in second place with 22%, the Makkah Region in third place with a share of (16%), and the rest of the Kingdom’s regions with a share of (10%).

On the same topic, the Executive Director of the National Exhibitions and Conferences Program, Eng. Tariq Al-Issa, praised the work of many exhibition and conference organizing institutions managed by young Saudi professionals, which have brought their distinctiveness to their consumer exhibitions. He believes that what sets these exhibitions apart is that they are specialized and better positioned for sustainability, as evidenced by the careful planning observed by the program team and its partners.

During this period, the program held three introductory workshops on the policies and procedures for organizing consumer goods exhibitions, conducted 157 meetings with investors in this field, and provided them with technical support, It also conducted 108 inspection visits to these exhibitions in cooperation with the regional emirates, the Ministry of Commerce and Investment, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and the General Directorate of Civil Defense.