Dubai top choice for association meetings
strain on many facets of the tourism trade. However, the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions sector continues to remain buoyant. As such, this industry has a major role to play in injecting funds into our econ- omy,” said Bachar. Modern infrastructure, strong air-traffic connectivity and
Convention Gate
Dubai continues to be the most preferred destination in the Middle East for business tourism, attracting around 34 global associ- ation meetings in 2011, according to the International Congress and Convention Association’s (ICCA) latest global meetings ranking.
Jerad Bachar, Director of
the Dubai Convention Bureau (DCB), said the meetings indus- try has shown resilience amid the global economic slowdown and political turmoil in recent years. “Volatility in the international financial markets has put a major
diverse hotel offerings have also raised Dubai’s profile as an ideal location for international meetings and events. Apart from association mee-
tings, Dubai has in the past attracted international events and conferences such as the International Diabetes Federation, World Health Federation, International Bar Association and the World Energy Forum. This year, the city is pre-
Jerad Bachar
paring to host The World Conference on International Telecommunications, the Global Standards Symposium and The World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly, which are expected to bring more than 11,000 delegates to Dubai.
QNCC overachieves in year one
Qatar National Convention Centre
(US$55 million) from these two events alone. Hosting the UN convention on climate change represents a major coup for Qatar and QNCC,” said McCartney. The convention centre also
proves ideal for climate change discussions as it is purpose- built to gold certification in accordance with Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) standards. As part of its drive to attract
Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) has already exceeded its first-year revenue target, posting an estimated eco- nomic impact of QAR72.84 mil- lion (US$20 million) and attracting thousands of business travellers in the second quarter of 2012. QNCC, which officially opened in December 2011, has hosted an impressive 128 events, catering for more than 128,000 visitors in the first seven months of its operations alone. Trevor McCartney,QNCC’s
Director of Business Develop- ment, said the venue is sched- uled to host two major events
later this year, highlighting Qatar’s growing importance as a meetings and conventions destination in the region. QNCC will be the venue
for the 25th Universal Postal Union Congress, scheduled from September 24 to October 15. Another major international gathering will be the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, between November 26 to December 7, which will bring a minimum of 15,000 international delegates. “QNCC is expected to gen-
erate an estimated economic impact of over QAR200 million
regional and international inter- est, QNCC has been actively courting associations in Europe and the Middle East, targeting events from the healthcare, edu- cation, information technology and oil and gas sectors. The cen- tre has also generated interest from organisations looking to stage live events. Among the high-profile
international events that QNCC has hosted in recent months were the 13th
UN Conference
on Trade and Development, the 20th World Petroleum Congress, Geospatial Middle East, and the 12th
Congress of the Pan-Arab Association of Pediatric Surgery.
Madinah
Elaf Group to build four Saudi hotels
Saudi travel and hospitality firm Elaf Group has announced plans to construct four hotels in the Kingdom, representing a total investment of SAR400 million (US$107 million). The new properties, which will be built in Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah, are expected to be completed between 2012 and 2014. Elaf Group has been actively expanding its hotel port- folio in a bid to respond to the growing demand for accom- modation in Saudi Arabia.
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