Abu Dhabi Convention and Exhibition Bureau sets up fund to bring global business events to city
New 'business event' fund will bring in high-profile conventions as part of tourism push
Dubai: The Abu Dhabi Convention and Exhibition Bureau has lined up a new ‘business event’ fund to create high-profile events for the emirate’s tourism and exhibitions space. The fund aims to attract more business-focussed events being held in the city.
This is in line with Abu Dhabi’s moves in the last two years to give fresh impetus to tourism as well as its status as a destination for events and conferences.
For the new fund, the Abu Dhabi Convention and Exhibition Bureau has signed up with Miral, a developer whose portfolio includes niche mixed-use projects that are heavy on concept and creativity.
“With global destinations increasingly bidding and attracting corporate groups by offering enhanced support, the ‘Joint Business Event Fund’ will create a compelling proposition to attract corporate clients and will be an additional tool for local and international DMCs and meeting planners to promote the UAE capital,” said a statement. The plan of action will have:
* ADCEB and Miral sales and marketing teams pitch the emirate as a leading MICE destination, locally, regionally and globally.
* Leverage international brand hotel connections and a network of sales teams.
* ADCEB and Miral will join forces to strengthen activities such as hosting familiarisation trips, site inspections, sales calls and hosting clients' events to promote Abu Dhabi.
Gradual build up
The pilot phase will focus on meetings and incentive travel. “Based on the success of these two units, conferences and exhibitions are set to join at a later stage,” the promoters added.
“When selecting a host city for any event activity, many factors come into play — accessibility, accommodation availability, venue capacity, meeting spaces, unique experiences and, of course, budget,” said Mubarak Al Shamsi, Director of ADCEB. “In Abu Dhabi, individually, there is a lot of competition, but collectively, we have a unique proposition to target niche groups where we can offer Abu Dhabi as a lucrative option to potential clients.
“Looking at Yas Island, with its increased hotel occupancy and venue availability, the island is now capable of hosting events of 500 delegates or more and is a strong contender, globally, when it comes to attracting MICE events.”