TAKING THE FLOOR
With the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Centre (RICEC) developing its events calendar apace, ceo Abdullah Al Omran defines the centre's objectives for 2012
Demand for world-class convention and exhibition facilities in Saudi Arabia is growing all the time and the Riyadh Inter- nation Convention and Exhibition Centre (RICEC) is well-placed to fulfill that need by making progress in helping to promote itself as a regional business meetings destination. Yet, exactly how will it do so? RICEC ceo Abdullah Al Omran responds to upcoming issues.
How will the relatively new RICEC help to develop international business rela- tions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia? It will help to develop international business relations by securing more international value-driven trade shows.
Relations between the Saudi Arabian business community and its international counterparts are well established. Saudi Arabia, enjoying the largest economy in the region, has the longest established global trade relationships. RICEC is developing in response to the demand for a world-class facility to support the rapid growth of the meetings sector in
the Kingdom and in the region as a whole. The shows and exhibitions held at RICEC, whether national, regional or international by definition, have a role to play in promot- ing trade and industry in the global sense and thus essentially promoting international business relations at a micro level. There has been a misconception in the past that trade shows held in Saudi Arabia are focused only on the Saudi market. We know that some of these shows attract a large number of trade visitors from the MENA region. The appearance that the shows' focus is on Saudi market is simply because it is the largest market with the greatest purchasing power in the region. The meetings industry tends to concentrate on geographical areas where the buyers are located. Therefore, the shows held at RICEC offer a much better result to the participants than many other destinations. The growth of international business rela- tions for the Saudi business community is now fuelled by the opening of RICEC, which has recorded a twofold increase in the num- ber of events since opening in March 2009.
To what extent do local industries, with enough critical mass to form a mature marketplace in terms of number of competitors and comple- mentary services and products, count in Saudi Arabia?
We define the market as a 'set of buyers' and today's buyers have a free choice and multiple sourcing opportunities, making the market dynamics very lucid. There is no protectionism for the national industries anymore. Therefore, national industries in the Kingdom are definitely competitive within their marketplace. Saudi Arabia has successfully developed a good non-oil industrial base, which caters to both national and regional consumption. The Kingdom has an advantage within the GCC, owing to its large consumer base backed up by higher disposable incomes. The national decision to 'make or buy' is driven by the market dynamics, competi- tiveness and economy of scales, where the Kingdom's industry has a clear advantage within the regional market. The international exhibitions held at RICEC also highlight the
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