Cityscape exhibitors attract clients with a different kind of model

The promotions business is booming in Dubai and that means lots of work for those with pulchritude.

Models promote Al Barari projects at the Cityscape Global 2014 in Dubai. Satish Kumar / The National
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Property developers are turning to models of a different kind to turn heads at the region’s biggest real estate exhibition.

With billions of dollars worth of property to promote, exhibitors at this week’s Cityscape show in Dubai are depending on the good looks of throngs of women flown in from as far away as Russia and China to help and not just on the scale models of their projects that can each cost hundreds of thousands of dirhams to make.

The human models can earn up to Dh130 an hour for their nine-hour day.

“We are here to attract businessmen,” said Tanya from Romania, who was pretending to play golf, on a faux green at one of the hundreds of stands at the exhibition.

“It’s a honey trap, it is obvious. Ninety per cent of the people here are men and men look at women and we are very approachable. It is why we are here – we want you to approach us and talk, which is why we smile and talk back. Then the sales team will assist with anything you need to know.”

Amidst an economic recovery and higher consumer spending, more companies are looking to models to market their products. Nowhere is this more visible than large scale exhibitions held in Dubai at conferences such as Citiscape and Arab Health. The number of people attending meetings and conferences at the Dubai World Trade Centre surpassed 2 million for the first time last year. A total of 2.2 million took part in 373 events, up from 1.85 million a year earlier. Forty per cent of them were international visitors.

In Abu Dhabi, that figure stood at 1.53 million people across 328 events in the same period, an increase of 12 per cent from a year earlier.

Sia Al Areeny set up a modelling and events management company, Siave Events and Entertainment, with her twin sister Eva.

“With the recovery in the economy there’s plenty of work. You have Gitex coming up all the fashion shows malls opening up and wanting models to promote products. There’s lots of business to be made.”

In a male-dominated industry, the requirements of some clients can sometimes cause offence.

“Men think that hiring supermodels is going to drive in business, that customers will buy property,” said a talent manager who wanted to remain anonymous.

“Some of their demands are ridiculous: blonde, hot girl, tall, costumes above the knee. It is offensive. If the job is commissioned by a woman their requirements are a bit more realistic. They want someone who is well-groomed and preferably speaks several languages.”

With the international clientele at Cityscape this year, many of the models working on stands had been flown in for the three-day event.

“I think a lot of people that come to the stand come just to talk to us,” said Jade, an Australian, working for the promotions group TPG. “We are an easy point of first contact and then we pass them onto the sales guys and girls. I don’t have to be clever or articulate – the client just wants pretty girls to be on the stand. It’s really good money. I get Dh100 to Dh130 per hour from 10 to 7 for three days.”

Still, Jade has a word of warning for would-be applicants next year:

“One of the girls on this stand, for a previous job, had to wear a bikini in a spa and feed another girl grapes.”

Hardly model behaviour, even for a property developer.

ascott@thenational.ae

halsayegh@thenational.ae

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