Bangkok--26 Feb--Total Quality PR Etihad Airways’ chief executive James Hogan tomorrow (Wednesday) will say that the Middle East is set to become the global centre for the aviation industry and that Etihad Airways and Abu Dhabi will be at the forefront of such growth. Mr Hogan will be a keynote speaker at the two day Middle East Aviation Outlook Summit which starts tomorrow in Abu Dhabi. He will address an audience at the Beach Rotana Hotel of 300 senior representatives from all sectors of regional aviation including airlines, airports, governments and aircraft manufacturers. During the speech in the UAE’s capital, Mr Hogan will discuss the future of the aviation industry in the Middle East and the region’s enormous diversity and potential. He will also speak of the opportunities the Middle East presents for global business and leisure, as well as the aviation sector in particular. Mr Hogan will say that the Middle East and North Africa was the fastest growing region for air passenger and cargo traffic in 2006 and this growth is set to continue at seven per cent each year between now and 2011. This is the highest of any region in the world and compares to a global average of just over five per cent. Mr Hogan will explain that trade and tourism are the two key drivers in the region, but there are now many other additional factors including the growth of the aviation industry which provides a multi-layered formula for success. He will add that progressive deregulation and liberalisation is also opening up further opportunities for traffic growth and regional civil aviation authorities are extremely active in this area. The Middle East is an ideal location for the aviation industry as it is placed so perfectly between East and West, according to Mr Hogan, and there are few places better placed to launch a new global airline. During the speech Mr Hogan will also discuss the considerable investment being made by the aviation industry in the region both in terms of aircraft and airport infrastructure. The Etihad CEO will explain that Middle East airlines announced orders worth USD 50 billion at the 2007 Paris Airshow. This was followed some months later with further orders by airlines from this region for some 140 aircraft at the Dubai Airshow, deals worth more than USD 100 billion. Mr Hogan will add that ten airports across the Middle East are also investing USD 37 billion in new airport capacity which will provide for an additional 318 million passengers per year by 2012. Middle East gross domestic product (GDP) is growing year-on-year between five and six per cent and this, Mr Hogan will say, is leading to the emergence of an economic powerhouse akin to India and China. Another area Mr Hogan will discuss is the diversification of the UAE’s economy. He will say that in the UAE alone, oil and gas sectors accounted for 70 per cent of GDP in 1975. The same figure was 30 per cent in 2005 and this is reflected across the entire region as the UAE continues to diversify its economy. Diversification into industry, tourism, real estate, financial services and logistics powered the aviation sector’s double digit capacity and traffic growth in the last four years. Mr Hogan will say that the catchment area is not simply the region, it is the whole world, and the Middle East is now competing on a global stage. The region still needs to ensure that it manages capacity against growth, but the signs are that real and lasting change is sustainable. Mr Hogan will stress that the Middle East must also demonstrate that it recognises and accepts its part in caring for and protecting the worldwide environment in other areas of aviation operation. The UAE continues to attract growing numbers of visitors each year with travel and tourism accounting for 12.1 per cent of GDP in 2006. This figure is rising all the time and the total demand is forecasted to grow by five per cent year-on-year between 2007 and 2016. Mr Hogan will discuss the growth of Abu as a global capital. Currently, he will say, it enjoys a market share of just 2.3 per cent in world travel and tourism with about a million visitors a year. But there are ambitious and realistic targets to increase this to more than three million visitors a year by 2015. He will state that the Emirate enjoys strong intra-region traffic, natural hubs and the development of destinations that can compete on the global leisure market. This will be a major driver of growth that in the UAE alone is forecasted to be five per cent year-on-year to 2016. Abu Dhabi’s development as a major tourism destination will be enhanced by a range of exciting, top-of-the-range attractions including the Formula 1 Grand Prix track on Yas Island, the Guggenheim museum, Warner Brothers theme park and a Louvre museum, the first of its kind outside France. The future is bright for the region, Mr Hogan will add, and the Middle East enjoys the perfect location between the East and West. It can fully exploit the range of modern aircraft and there are exciting and expanding business and leisure opportunities. The global aviation order is changing and the roots of growth and development that will make the Middle East the centre of global aviation can now be seen. Mr Hogan will explain Etihad’s expansion plans at its Abu Dhabi home base where the airport will witness a second runway and two new terminals, one exclusively dedicated to Etihad Airways due to open later this year. This is part of a USD 6.8 billion investment to boost capacity three fold from current levels to 20 million passengers a year by 2011.