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Officials at the meeting

MICE industry leaders discuss opportunities, challenges

SHARJAH, December 23, 2014

The meeting, incentive, conference and event (MICE) industry stakeholders in the region took stock of opportunities and challenges facing the industry at a high-profile meeting in Sharjah, UAE, recently.

The meeting of the Middle East/African Chapter of the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) Paris, held at Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, discussed activities and initiatives required to be developed by UFI for the benefit of its regional members.

The meeting was attended by Humaid Mohamed Bin Salem, secretary general of the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry; UFI MEA Chapter chair Abdullah Al Omran, CEO, RICEC, Riyadh; first vice-chairman Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, CEO, Expo Centre Sharjah; second vice-chairman Amer N Tabbah, managing director, Sofex, Jordan; and Hossien Esfahbodi, managing director and chairman, IIEC, Iran, besides UFI board members.

Waleed Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, second vice-chairman, Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “The meetings and exhibitions industry has seen tremendous growth, which has contributed to the country’s economic development. Today, the UAE is one of the biggest MICE markets, and the number of events taking place in the country has gone up phenomenally in the past decade.

“I believe the UFI Chapter will have a big role to play in the future growth of the industry here.”

“Frequently changing economic and geopolitical events unexpectedly throw up opportunities and challenges in equal measures. At the meeting, we discussed ways to take benefit of the prevailing market conditions and how the UFI MEA Chapter could help realize them,” said Midfa.
 
“We realised that there could be several challenges as well... here again the UFI MEA Chapter could help its members ride out the problems,” he said.
 
The meeting also reviewed the outcome of the 81st Congress in Bogota, where more than 300 attendees from 46 nations gathered.
 
“The Bogota congress had made it clear that the very nature of exhibitions must evolve to reflect changing industry needs, blurring the distinctions between event categories, and the need for UFI to continue adjusting its focus and services to reflect this,” added Midfa.
 
The meeting also discussed the preparations for the Open Seminar in Marrakech (Morocco) scheduled from March 23 to 25, 2015. - TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Sharjah | industry | meeting | MICE | Leaders |

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