“The response from the industry has confirmed
that the subjects, speakers, sessions and content was right on target and the format will certainly be replicated for 2012.” AIBTM also put Baltimore on the map as an up-and-coming meetings destination, with Visit Baltimore CEO Tom Noonan hailing the show a “game changer” for the city. “The reason for us hosting AIBTM was because
Reed wanted to be in America and we’re in the mid- dle of meeting planner land up and down the east coast” said Noonan. “For many customers from around the world
this may be their first time here. Even some domes- tic customers in the Chicago market or west coast market haven’t been here in five or 10 years or maybe ever. And to walk in and see this city in June, with some of our best weather and see what we’ve done here at the convention centre, the downtown, the hotels and the tourism community, it’s a real game changer for us.” The Middle East was well represented at AIBTM
with the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) and a delegation of its key stakeholders taking out exhibition space and pleased with the results. The delegation conducted more than 200 pres-
entations to US buyers – many of whom were being briefed for the first time about the emirate and its meetings industry facilities. ADTA and Etihad Airways received enquiries
from one US organiser looking to bring charity and celebrity golf tournaments to the emirate while Emirates Palace was readying to quote on three different incentive groups that FedEx is looking to take to the Middle East. “The delegation received interest for corporate meetings groups from aviation majors, incen- tive programmes and senior retreats for a blue chip, which is also planning to open a regional headquarters in the UAE capital, and an incentive for Microsoft, which could bring upwards of 650 executives to the emirate in 2014,” revealed the ADTA’s acting international promotions director, Mubarak Al Nuaimi. “These enquiries were all for genuine pro-
grammes that are on the table now and we believe we are in a better position than ever to win the business with an up-scaled destination offering and a keener competitive edge with room rates in Abu Dhabi having fallen 24 percent over the past year.” ADTA also used AIBTM to introduce the ini-
tial members of its planned four-strong US team, which is now being formed in advance of the antici- pated opening of its New York office, the seventh on the authority’s overseas network. Heading up the US operation is travel industry
veteran Al Merschen, taking the reins as ADTA’s acting country manager for America, who has more than 20 years of experience in the sector.
Above: AIBTM presented plenty of networking opportunities
Left: AIBTM was opened by the Mayor of Baltimore
“We see great potential for Abu Dhabi from the US with
non-stop flights from both Chicago and New York operated by Etihad and growing awareness in the market through Abu Dhabi’s expanding links with the States such as the New York University campus and the planned Guggenheim Abu Dhabi,” explained Merschen. “The long-haul upscale market has not been as adversely
affected by the economic downturn as other segments and is a great fit for Abu Dhabi. “We plan to work first with the agency groups to build up
distribution channels in particular Virtuoso and Signature, which between them control more than US$10 billion worth of outbound US travel a year.” He concluded: “The time is now right to enter the Ameri-
can market with a sophisticated product now in place, non-stop air links and an excellent destination story to sell.” AIBTM 2012 will take place at the Baltimore Convention Centre from June 19–21, 2012.
The time is now right to enter the American market with a sophisticated product now in place, non-stop air links and
an excellent destination story to sell _ Al Merschen, ADTA’s acting country manager for America
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