The Gulf region’s Mice industry is poised for vigorous growth as the collapse in the price of oil has pushed the Middle East states to intensify efforts to diversify their economies, says Shinu Pillai, exhibition manager, ibtm arabia, writes in the following article.

The future of Mice Travel in the Gulf and wider Middle East region is bright; the rapid expansion of infrastructure, commerce and tourism in the UAE has outpaced every other destination in the world, with Qatar not far behind and Oman entering the arena.

Dr Rob Davidson, managing director of MICE Knowledge, presented his Industry Trends Report at ibtm world at the end of last year and noted that the collapse in the price of oil that resulted in a significant drop in oil export receipts and fiscal income for many Middle East nations has pushed the Middle East to intensify efforts to diversify their economies. As a result the Middle East is focusing more on meetings and events as potential sources of revenue and employment, and this is predicted to continue.

A decade ago, incentives in Abu Dhabi were largely absent from a wider landscape that lacked the resort and attractions infrastructure to support them, and large-scale meetings simply couldn’t be supported as the venues were not yet built. Today, Abu Dhabi has a number of venues to offer Mice planners, including ADNEC and the Al Ain Convention Centre which can host large-scale conferences and exhibitions, and a large number of hotels and resorts which are perfect for more intimate occasions. Additionally, the growth of inter-continental travel going east to west and vice-versa, as well as the expansion of regional airline capacity, means that 90 per cent of the world is now both well served and within nine hours of flying time.

With headline attractions, stunning new resorts, a re-energised commitment to service and delivery excellence, the destination has entered a new era of maturity.

In lieu of these developments, the GCC’s Mice industry has undergone enormous growth. Dubai now stands as the world’s fourth largest visitor market (ranked by international overnight visitors), outshining destinations such as Istanbul, New York and Singapore. Dubai jumped 19 places in ICCA’s rankings from 2013 to 2014 to rank 44th in the world, while Abu Dhabi broke into the top 100 for the first time in 2012, compared to being placed 234th the year before. A report from Alpen Capital suggests that international association meetings in the Middle East have more than tripled over the past 10 years.

Guy Hutchinson, COO of Rotana, said: “The strong infrastructure network, air accessibility and abundance of hotel options in Abu Dhabi make it an ideal choice for international meetings. Abu Dhabi has established a considerable reputation as an exceptional destination for meetings and conferences and has hosted some impressive international events.”

The UAE has also managed to attract international suitors within the Mice industry; European source markets, new markets in Eastern Europe, South America, and the Far East, are now focusing on placing business in the UAE.

Interest from the international Mice industry is much a result of events like ibtm arabia, which was the first such event to help establish and build the industry in the Gulf region. Each year ibtm arabia provides a platform for the meetings industry in the Middle East to connect with the world whilst also placing a global spotlight on the city of Abu Dhabi and positioning it as a key meetings destination to potential business prospects.

Mohammed AlAoui, public relations manager, Emirates Palace, has said: “ibtm arabia is one of the major events where Mice specialists, major events organisers, hotels, airlines and travel services agents from all over the world come to develop new business. It’s an opportunity for hotels to meet with the major international and regional Mice agents and a great way to strengthen their relationship with existing contacts and to establish relations with the new tour operators and DMCs.”

Leading industry experts predict that this growth trend is set to continue. For example, the last Amadeus report shows the GCC Mice industry is seeing continuous growth and that the Middle East is set to expand even further while attracting high-profile global events and state-of-the-art infrastructural investments. Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) suggested that the Mice sector is currently generating $1.4 billion per annum for Abu Dhabi and is expected to reach $2.4 billion by 2020. MICE visitors to Dubai currently equate to 0.9 million, this is estimated to double to between 1.7 and 1.9 million by 2020.

The new Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre (OCEC), opening in 2016 is set to position the sultanate as a serious contender to host international and regional congresses and exhibitions. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has developed Centres of Excellence in a number of cities, focusing on specific economic activities, and the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar have also invested in developing competitive positions in sectors such as finance, tourism, and education. Recently Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau fought off competitive bids from both Rio de Janeiro and St Petersburg to host the 2019 World Energy Congress (WEC), one of the world’s most important energy forums.

The Gulf region’s Mice industry is certainly poised for vigorous growth, with a bright future, and we are pleased to be one of the first shows to kick-start 2016 which promises to be one of many great years.