Abu Dhabi to strengthen position as a leading destination for MICE

Abu Dhabi Convention and Exhibition Bureau (ADCEB) has announced a new partnership with Miral, Abu Dhabi’s leading curator of magnetic experiences, to strengthen the emirate’s position as a leading destination for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE), specifically targeting business events with more than 500 attendees.

The partnership has resulted in the creation of the Abu Dhabi Convention and Exhibition Bureau and Miral Joint Business Event Fund, a first-of-its-kind fund that aligns with the Tourism Strategy of the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) to synergise efforts with industry partners across different sectors aimed at attracting and generating larger meetings and inbound incentive groups to the emirate.

With global destinations increasingly bidding and attracting corporate groups by offering enhanced support, the Abu Dhabi Convention and Exhibition Bureau and Miral 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.

Based on the success of these two units, conferences and exhibitions are set to join at a later stage. With the programme adopting a gradual rollout, which started on Jan.1, 2022, the pilot phase will focus only on meetings and incentive travel.

Mubarak Al Shamsi, Director of Abu Dhabi Convention and Exhibition Bureau, said, “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. 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.”

Putting full force behind their bidding efforts, both Abu Dhabi Convention and Exhibition Bureau and Miral’s sales and marketing teams will pitch the emirate as a leading MICE destination, locally, regionally and globally. Leveraging stakeholder international brand hotel connections and a network of sales teams, they will join forces to strengthen sales and marketing activities, such as hosting familiarisation trips, site inspections, sales calls and hosting clients’ event to promote Abu Dhabi.

Taghrid Al Saeed, Executive Director of Marketing and Destination Strategy of Miral, said, “We are proud to be partnering with Abu Dhabi Convention and Exhibition Bureau to promote Yas Island and the UAE capital as a destination of choice for MICE travellers. Our strategic vision for Yas Island has delivered a premier location for leisure, and entertainment, with 2021 seeing the addition of new world-class facilities and amenities such as Etihad Arena and three leading accommodation and hospitality offerings.”

WAM