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'The meetings industry is potentially a significant growth driver for our tourism sector,' said Dayne Lim, Product Development Director, ADTA. 'Apart from the tangible business returns, it can deliver additional destination benefits, including familiarising audiences to Abu Dhabi's expanding range of world-class facilities and attractions and generating future return visits.'
Abu Dhabi's MICE industry has come a long way in a short period of time thanks to the development of the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Centre (ADNEC), which hosted over 100 events last year at its new facility which was built three years ago, as compared to 14 events at its old facility in 2005.
'I think ADNEC is one of the top five venues of the world,' James Graham, General Manager of Aim Events, the Events Management Division of Abu Dhabi University, told AMEInfo.com. 'Marry that with the fact that the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority and various government agencies have a clear vision for what they want to do, and I think Abu Dhabi has the opportunity to be the premiere business to business destination in the region and compete with the big destinations in the world.'
Abu Dhabi rises
Graham says Abu Dhabi's MICE industry is getting a big boost from the number of hotels that are opening in the capital. 'One the things exhibitors look at is the three A's: availability, accessibility, and affordability. Two years ago you could hardly find availability in Abu Dhabi because there were not enough hotels, parking was impossible to find, and because it was so busy hotels could charge whatever they wanted.
Over time, with so many more hotels to choose from, there now is better value for money, more space to choose from, and a more diverse type of space,' he said.
He acknowledges that the high rates that hotels charge in the emirate is a major issue for organizers when they are trying to bring in regional and international delegates or visitors, but he says it is a problem you find in any big city.
'When there is a big event in town it costs a lot of money to stay in a hotel. That's how hotels make their money,' he said. Supply is the main way around that, as well as diversifying your hotel offerings into the budget segment, he said.
He dismisses the suggestion that the Internet will kill off exhibitions, arguing that if anything they have become more important. The financial downturn has had a much more harmful impact on the sector, and it will remain relatively sluggish this year due to the lag in forward bookings.
'Over time these shows will come back. People will still come to these events - maybe not in such a nice chair on the plane - but they are still going to get here. I don't know how much growth we will see this year, but I think in 2011 we will see some greener fields,' he said.
Jeff Florian, Senior Reporter
