Abu Dhabi is seeing a strong return on its campaign for business events, and new incentives hope to continue the trend.
Last year almost 4.9 million people stayed in Abu Dhabi’s 162 hotels and hotel apartments, a 9.8 per cent rise year-on-year. While the United Kingdom remains the largest European source market, registering a 13 per cent rise rise to more than 270,000, expanding infrastructure is expected to bring in more visitors.
The convention bureau launched its Al Nukhba initiative at the end of 2017, aiming to boost the number of international conferences held in the UAE capital. The programme gathers like-minded, highly motivated experts in various fields across the emirate, in order to co-ordinate efforts to secure convention business for Abu Dhabi.
The new team is made up of experts influential in their field, who are now acting as representatives of the emirate, working with local professionals to advocate for Abu Dhabi on potential inbound international conventions.
“In line with the department’s mandate of growing the business tourism sector within Abu Dhabi, investing time and effort in MICE-boosting initiatives such as the Al Nukhba programme will help us towards our target of attracting three million visitors by 2021,” said HE Saif Saeed Ghobash, director general of the Culture and Tourism department.
“Working in partnership with the convention bureau, our business elites, which include academic professionals, scientists and researchers, will create collaboration and bid development strategies aimed at increasing the number of international conventions held in the UAE capital,” Ghobash added.
Expanding Abu Dhabi’s MICE sector is a strategic goal for the department, which plans to simultaneously leverage venues and facilities across the emirate in a bid to attract more visitors to explore Abu Dhabi and its tourist proposition.
The emirate is of course home to more than tourism. By incentivising international, regional and local companies to build on this success, and enhance the events programme, it hopes to catalyse trade and investment with multinational firms.
To support existing businesses and encourage the introduction of new events, the department’s events bureau has introduced the Advantage Events Abu Dhabi initiative to fund leisure and entertainment events driven by the private sector. This will help domestic and foreign companies looking to expand their footprint in the region.
Major long-term objectives for the incentive scheme include initiating public and private sector partnerships to develop recurring events around the emirate; develop content and programme collaboration, and increase the appeal of existing events by adding value to the audience experience.
The new scheme will also encourage curation of content and programmes for sustainable and multi-disciplinary event concepts.
The initial funding set aside for successful applications is AED10m ($US2.7m), with further tranches being made available as the multi-phase scheme evolves and progresses. The new incentive grant is open to all entities involved in the retail and events industry, venues and IPR owners.
Read the feature in Issue 3 | 2018 of Exhibition World, online here: http://joom.ag/hgwY/p44
