Visitors to Sharjah book fair to touch 1.5 million

Sharjah - Total sales of the books during the first nine days hit more than Dh12 million.

The 34th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), which will conclude on Saturday, has attracted about 1 million visitors from around the world over the last nine days. The total sales of the books during these nine days hit more than Dh12 million.
The number of visitors is expected to touch the 1.5 million mark after the weekend as visitors from all emirates are expected to flock to the Expo Centre, Sharjah. Ahmed bin Rakad Al Amri, Director of the Sharjah International Book Fair, stressed that the 34th SIBF has broken all the previous records.
This accomplishment could not have been achieved without the support of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah and his constant directives to make SIBF a comprehensive cultural project that draws the attention of readers of all ages. Speaking to Khaleej Times, Al Amri added that the turnout of visitors during the past few days has been great. The daily average number exceeded 100,000. This indicates that books still matter to people of all ages.
He stressed that the number of visitors to SIBF has been on the increase. Last year about 1.47 million visitors turned up for the festival.
The visitors comprising students, intellectuals, journalists and other sections of people consider SIBF a rich platform to learn about various cultures.
Al Ameri expected that the number of visitors would increase by 25 per cent on the last days of SIBF.
afkarali@khaleejtimes.com

• Sharjah International Book Fair