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With leading international and regional experts and more than 150 key partners from Abu Dhabi and beyond participating in the event, the conference included presentations and discussions on the present and future of Abu Dhabi with regard to the meetings and incentive industry and its role in enhancing ties between ADTA and key stakeholders in the tourism sector.
The conference highlighted that Abu Dhabi is targeting high-end leisure an MICE business rather than mass tourism. Another focal point was the existing facilities and offerings, and ongoing expansion and improvement of infrastructure needed for conferences and related activities. The event focused on the fundamentals required to create and promote the ideal image of Abu Dhabi as a leading destination for MICE tourism. Other topics included enhancing promotional skills and especially the need for high service levels, and their direct impact on the success of incentive tourism.
The conference titled, 'MICE/Business Tourism - What is in it for you and Abu Dhabi?" included 12 sessions on the strong business tourism potential and infrastructure that is needed to position the UAE capital city among the most competitive MICE destinations in the world. It discussed the physical and conceptual constituents of tourism, in addition to the important role of innovation and diversification in enhancing the emirate's competitiveness. This is made possible by maintaining, protecting and encouraging tourism partnerships with the private sector and transforming Abu Dhabi into an international hub for joint investments and a world class destination for international meetings and incentives providing the ideal platform for professionals, marketing managers and tourism service providers.
Ahmed Hussein, Deputy Director General, Tourism Operations, ADTA, said: "Recognizing the importance of diversified tourism products and services, ADTA, since its inception in 2004, has formulated comprehensive plans to strengthen the physical and conceptual products and infrastructure of Abu Dhabi in a number of tourism related sectors including sports, culture, heritage and tourism economy."
He added:
"MICE tourism is key in the emirate's tourism development drive and a central pillar of the economic tourism infrastructure. Business Tourism/MICE is generally regarded as one of the highest yielding and most profitable inbound tourism segments because of the significantly greater spend than that of the leisure or holiday visitor. But it is not only economic. There are social and other tangible benefits with business tourism too."
He went on to say that "We wish to create a vibrant Business Tourism environment with strong industry players, robust alliances and world class infrastructure so that Abu Dhabi can deliver best practise MICE business successfully and provide the resulting benefits to our stakeholders."
Nasser Al Reyami, Director of ADTA's Licensing and Classification Division, stressed the importance of the conference in introducing the world-class quality services offered to MICE tourism. "In all its plans, ADTA is keen to meet the highest standards and provide visitors with unrivalled services, thus further encouraging inbound tourism, especially MICE visitors".
Al Reyami added that the huge interest locally and internationally accrued through the conference reflects the emirate's potential role in strengthening MICE tourism. "The conference further strengthens partnerships that help Abu Dhabi to become a leading destination in business tourism. ADTA is playing a key role in the professional development of our tourism industry stakeholders and through the many educational activities that we offer, including this conference, is to support our stakeholders in achieving ADTA's high standards at all levels," he explained.
In a paper on MICE tourism in Abu Dhabi, Gillian Taylor, ADTA's Business Tourism MICE Manager, highlighted the importance of having diversified tourism products and services. She explained ADTA's role in motivating the private sector to develop, expand and improve services. "ADTA has plans to further diversify tourism, develop its constituents and provide investment incentives and opportunities in most tourism services and activities. We wish to position Abu Dhabi as THE premier business tourism destination in the world; to increase Business Tourism coming to Abu Dhabi and to maximise yield; while optimising new investment and infrastructure to attract business tourism and maximising opportunities for Abu Dhabi stakeholders," she said.
The essence of her paper was that Abu Dhabi needs to promote the destination as a team and have a unified marketing front. MICE participants tend to be highly discerning travelers. Clients are always on the look-out for something new and exciting and there are plenty of other emerging destinations and competition out there so Abu Dhabi has to be ahead of the competitors all the time.
Taylor discussed the many offerings that position Abu Dhabi as a key enabler of successful MICE activities including quality travel, tourism and airlines services; advanced road and transportation networks, and modern conferences and exhibitions facilities equipped with cutting edge ICT technology. "Abu Dhabi provides investors in the tourism industry with all required financial and banking facilities and has put in place laws and regulations that encourage local and foreign capital inflow and ensure high returns on investment," she added.
Another discerning advantage that Abu Dhabi enjoys is the added-value provided by the liberal economic and media policies that help properly depict the achievements in terms of tourism services and infrastructure, and directly promote the emirate's attractions to partners all over the world.
Sessions highlighted contributions by ADTA and other stakeholders in Abu Dhabi tourism sector and their commitment to developing international relations by taking part in all MICE exhibitions and conferences. The Gulf Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition (GIBTM), which was inaugurated last March, with great success and overwhelming participation, was hailed as a model event.
Mubarak Rashid Al Nuaimi, ADTA's Business Tourism MICE development section head, said: "The conference reiterates ADTA's commitment to supporting MICE conferences and industry education and facilitating their success in a relatively new segment in the regional and international tourism sector."
Al Nuaimi said that the GIBTM was a huge success with 368 buyer participants, 192 tourist service providers and a host of representatives from the local and international media. He is expecting the upcoming April exhibition to achieve even greater success.
The aim of the Gulf Incentive Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition (GIBTM) is to provide a business platform in the Gulf and Middle East region for venues, hotels, destinations and suppliers to meet with meeting planners, incentive travel buyers and those involved in the meetings and incentives industry.
Graeme Barnett, Exhibition Director, Reed Travel Exhibitions, one of the expert speakers advised that
"Regional recognition of the value of the meetings industry is still limited in the UAE but there can be no question that the pace of development of meetings industry facilities within the Gulf is the most dramatic of any region. He went on to say that the GIBTM pioneering research study on the industry which
will become annual, mirrors a first view at an aggregate level of both the demand and supply trends for the industry in the Gulf and wider Middle East."
Mr. Didier Scaillet, Vice President - Global Development, Meeting Professionals International (MPI), a global community of 20,500 meeting and events professionals, addressed the conference on 'The Meetings Industry and Abu Dhabi.' He expected Abu Dhabi to achieve an advanced position in the meetings industry worldwide, given the varied and integrated factors, currently serving different tourism and investment sectors and activities.
"The conference reflects the unwavering trust bestowed on Abu Dhabi as a highly competitive and profitable destination for investors and visitors. The success is obviously highlighted by the number of major international tourism companies and industry players that have opened operations to Abu Dhabi within a short span of time," he added.
Meeting Professionals International (MPI) is launching a Professional Education Conference-Middle East (PEC-ME) in April 2008 in Dubai immediately preceding GIBTM with plans for the event to be in Abu Dhabi n 2009. MPI is committed to connecting their members to the opportunities and knowledge that already exist in the Middle East and also to the ones that are about to emerge."
Mr. David Hackett, CEO, BI Worldwide, a global improvement company and one of the leading global incentive houses, talked about the Incentive Travel Industry in relation to the UAE capital city. He confirmed that the emirate possessed all the ingredients of success in this domain with the capability to generate the desired expertise, surpassing all expectations.
Mr. Hackett highlighted the uniqueness and diversity of the Abu Dhabi tourism sector and the importance of promoting it to compete with other global destinations. He pinpointed Abu Dhabi's strive to protect the environment and implement world's best ecotourism practices, a principal criteria to successfully market world tourism destinations. He also emphasized that Abu Dhabi should concentrate on its strengths, to maintain its cultural heritage and unique character and also highlighting the need for flexibility in meeting the requests of international incentive travel participants.
Mr. Roger Tondeur, President, MCI Group, one of the foremost global association, communications and event management groups in the world, discussed the concept of 'Global Associations' and available opportunities in the GCC region for economic alliances between major businesses. He said that Abu Dhabi is well-placed to meet requirements and surpass expectations in terms of services and opportunities but we should learn by observing the best practice of the most successful destinations in handling association business such as Brussels, Vienna, Chicago/Washington, Singapore and Geneva
On culture and heritage levels, Imma Plana, Strategic Planner Co-coordinator at Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH), presented a paper highlighting Abu Dhabi's cultural strengths that added special influence to all tourism activities. She said that such components enrich MICE forums and conferences, and add further vitality and advantages to these activities.
Plana described the efforts put together by ADACH towards the protection and maintenance of archeological sites and preservation of conceptual heritage, a key cultural pillar of Abu Dhabi's identity and major contributor to a plethora of cultural and folklore activities in line with the general trend to develop incentive and business tourism.
World business tourism is valued at US$672.5 billion annually and is a key component of all strong tourism destinations. Abu Dhabi, through its strong economic fundamentals, is a vibrant business destination and has all the parameters that position it as a business tourism destination.
The Abu Dhabi MICE Conference was supported by leading authorities and organizations such as TDIC, Aldar Properties, Sorouh Real Estate, Etihad Airways, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Company (ADNEC) and the Abu Dhabi Airport Company.
World-renowned business tourism professionals who participated in the event agreed that Abu Dhabi will achieve great success in the meetings and incentive industry in the coming years, pointing out the economic balanced growth witnessed by all related sectors complemented the strategic geographic location of the emirate at the junction between Europe, Near East and Far East.
A female student delegation, currently studying tourism, at Zayed University attended the conference and contributed to the discussions. The delegation was provided with a first hand experience of world trends in MICE tourism.
ADTA's Mission is to increase the professionalism and effectiveness of destination management through member and industry education such as this, establishment of standard ethical practices and promotion of the value of the meetings and incentive travel industry to Abu Dhabi.
Posted by Medilyn Manibo, Assistant News Editor
