Organizers of the 2014 Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) show expect this year’s show to be the biggest yet. As the show prepared to open for the first time at the new purpose-built venue at Dubai World Central, F&E Aerospace, which runs the show for the Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA), confirmed that numbers of exhibitors, aircraft and visitors will all top the totals achieved at the 2012 event.

“With [more than 420] exhibitors coming from all corners of the globe, MEBA really is demonstrating its position as the place to explore opportunities in business aviation for new and existing users,” said Ali Al Naqbi, founding chairman MEBAA, which hosts the event. “With Dubai being strategically located at less than an eight-hour flight from two-thirds of the world, the show really is the place to meet and network with the world’s leading business aviation companies and view a multitude of available aircraft and leasing options.”

MEBA 2014 occupies 75,000 square meters (807,319 sq ft) in the exhibit hall, 26 chalets and up to 50 aircraft on static display. It is the sixth MEBA (and the fifth three-day event on an airport), after starting with a one-day conference in a Dubai hotel in 2005. MEBA 2012 had more than 7,000 attendees, 345 exhibitors and 34 aircraft on display.

The number of commercial airlines exhibiting and showcasing their executive aviation offerings at MEBA 2014 has also increased this year–from two to four–with Emirates Executive and Etihad joining previous exhibitors Qatar Executive and Saudia Private Aviation.

“Over the years MEBA has grown in line with the business aviation market in the Middle East,” Al Naqbi said. He added that the industry in the Middle East has the potential “to reach predicted heights of 1,200 registered aircraft, 175,000 movements and a total sector value of $1.3 billion by 2020.”

MEBAA, which was founded in 2006, is the official representative of the business aviation industry in the Middle East and North Africa as recognized by IBAC (the International Business Aviation Council). The association represents more than 225 companies within the region and provides products and services to its members, including the MEBAA Aviation Insurance Scheme (MAIS).

On December 6, organizers announced that from 2016, the biennial show will go by the name MEBAA. “We have MEBA the show and MEBAA the organization, and they have both become well-known brands,” Al Naqbi told AIN. “To reduce confusion we are now branding everything the same: the organization, the shows, the conferences, the training programs, everything.”