Business leaders tip region's conference sector for further growth

Speaking at a media forum at The Fairmont Dubai, Sheena Dunne, project director, Leading Minds, a division of IIR, said that Dubai had seen an increase in demand in the meetings, conference and convention business after Dubai 2003, the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund held last September.

This is supported by recent indications from Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing that has sights set on 20 major events to be staged in the emirate next year, accounting for an additional 105,000 hotel room nights. Annually, figures show that 2,800 'rotating' events are held across major world cities.

Dunne said: 'The creation of the state-of-the-art convention centre last year cemented the platform that we have been striving to establish for more than a decade of operation here in the region. It is a perfect venue in which to host the November Leaders in Dubai forum.'

Following a premiere in London in October, the Dubai delegates will hear from seven of the world's most influential leaders, including Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, and Frank Maguire, the best-selling author and communications expert who steered programmes for KFC, FedEx and American Airlines.

The twin-city event has been billed as a first and is expected to attract up to 1,500 business leaders to Dubai.

'This is a headline event in two business capitals, London and Dubai, and will work to further expose Dubai's MICE potential to the region and international markets,' said Dunne.

Commenting on the growth of the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conference, Exhibitions) sector, Dunne confirmed that 2004 is set to be a bumper year for IIR with a 15 per cent increase in the number of events scheduled. She also said that year-to-date, delegate figures are up 50 per cent with more than 40 per cent from regional in-bound traffic.

Dunne was joined at the media briefing by corporate leaders from Arabia, including: Saudi industrialist, Abdulla Al Zamil, chief operating officer of Saudi Arabia's Zamil Industrial Investment Company; Bharat Jashanmal, managing director of one of the region's leading retail groups, Jashanmal Group; and Mark A Morgan, managing director and head of Gulf onshore, Citigroup Private Bank (CPG). CPG is a main Leaders in Dubai sponsor alongside Ferrometal and SABIC.

Jashanmal was fast to support Dunne's observations. He said: 'We need to capitalise on the momentum of the era and attract more prestigious world conferences, international companies and organisations to the region to demonstrate what our infrastructure has to offer, from residential real estate, to tourism and hospitality, to retail and more.'

He said that 33 per cent of all hotel room sales in the USA come from conventions and as Dubai particularly continues to develop its room stock, business leaders from all sectors have a collective responsibility to ensure that accommodation demand comes from business travellers not just leisure.

'The impact of global-scale events on hotel bookings is almost negligible in the Arab world at present, despite the fact that we have comparable facilities and destinations. In fact, the lodging and convention infrastructure is set for continued development with the announcement of more than 100 new hotels in Dubai and the region at the recent Arabian Travel Market,' he explained.

Al Zamil agreed saying that the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries - the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia - are particularly well placed to attract the global conventions market with its growing image as a multi-market tourism and business destination.

'The global conferences and conventions season runs from September to June which is perfect for the Gulf. It is the best time of the year here as far as the weather is concerned,' he said.

He pointed to the US$175 million (AED650 million) that the UAE invested in the construction of the state-of-the-art DICC as an example of the region's commitment to the growth of the conference sector.

'We have the infrastructure in place in Dubai and neighbouring markets to host the biggest meetings in the world and we have proved we have the organisational capacity, qualified personnel and expertise to host events on the largest possible scale.'

On regional leadership issues, CPG's Morgan said that with a world-class infrastructure in place, Corporate Arabia has a tremendous opportunity to perform and deliver excellent business results.

'Businesses here must aim high to ensure top quality performance in terms of service delivery, product delivery and profitability,' he said, citing dealing with uncertainty and change management as one of the top four issues facing regional governments and corporations.

'Perhaps one of the most important issues facing leaders is finding, motivating and retaining talent. But the good news for Arabia is that history shows that talent moves in the direction of the best opportunity. As this region is burgeoning across all sectors, then we should be an attractive option to draw top talent - both expatriate and national.'

Morgan supported the timing of Leaders in Dubai event as 'spot on'.

'The bank welcomes the chance to debate current leadership issues with world leaders and to network with Corporate Arabia especially at a time of regional economic growth. The Leaders in Dubai initiative is a well-timed one.'

On market growth, recently released figures show that regional economies are at an all time high - the UAE's GDP showed an impressive 12.1 per cent increase in 2003 and is expected to maintain notable growth this year (subject to oil prices).

Dunne, the event's project director, stressed that Leaders in Dubai is a ground-breaking event, offering a first-class opportunity to discuss significant issues with seven of the world's business leaders.

Giuliani and Maguire will be joined by Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter; Tom Peters, the management guru; MIT's Professor of Management and Economics, Lester Thurow; influential futurist, Alvin Toffler and former GE Chairman and CEO, Jack Welch, who will address the audience via a live satellite link.

She said: 'Each of the speakers will deliver a discussion on a particular aspect of leadership to the audience who will have the chance to debate these points.'

Leading Minds specialises in presenting the latest thoughts and groundbreaking ideas from pre-eminent international business authorities. Leaders in Dubai is set to become an annual event.

It has attracted the attention of established brands as key sponsors, including Citigroup, Ferrometal and SABIC. Al Hayat, Ameinfo.com, CNN and Gulf Business are on board as key media partners.