Dubai’s growing business events offerings and increasing levels of support for associations are among the key developments under the spotlight this week at Imex America, a leading exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events.

Planners are finding out about the latest venues and activities for business event groups, including La Perle, a new permanent aqua theatre show created by Franco Dragone, and the 150-metre tall Dubai Frame, which offers views of both the historic and modern parts of the city. They are also discovering the latest hospitality options, with over 105,000 rooms across Dubai, including new properties such as Five Palm Jumeirah Dubai and Address Boulevard.

Dubai Business Events (DBE), the city’s official convention bureau and a division of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, once again has a strong presence at the show, which runs till October 12 at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas, USA.

DBE has been joined by 10 co-exhibitors, including Emirates Airlines, Jumeirah Hotels, JW Marriott Marquis and Arabian Adventures, to showcase the city’s well-rounded proposition and the opportunities that are available for planners and organisers seeking to host small, medium or large-scale business events. DBE is also highlighting the upcoming Dubai Association Conference, which is scheduled to take place in Dubai from December 11-12.

Issam Kazim, chief executive officer of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said: “Imex America offers a unique opportunity to communicate directly with meeting planners and business event organisers, not just based in the USA, but also from the wider North America and neighbouring South America regions. With such a wide reach, the industry event is an ideal platform to showcase significant developments in Dubai’s business events offering. We are focused towards strengthening Dubai’s reputation as a leading business events destination, as we acknowledge the crucial role that business events are playing in transforming the city into a global knowledge hub. Along with our partners and key Dubai stakeholders, we aim to showcase the emirate’s world-class facilities and infrastructure across the business, leisure and hospitality sectors.”

The inaugural Dubai Association Conference is scheduled to take place in Dubai from December 11-12. Themed ‘Building a Community’, it is set to welcome association executives from around the world, in addition to government representatives, university faculties and students, as well as professionals seeking to develop associations. The conference will provide a valuable platform to gain insights from international experts on trends including membership, online communities, restructuring education, volunteerism and governance, among others.

Speaking at Imex America, Steen Jakobsen, director, Dubai Business Events said: “Imex America provides us with an invaluable opportunity to engage with the business events community, and this year we once again have a strong presence. During our time in Las Vegas, we are hosting a breakfast for 50 global meeting planners, a dinner event for another 50 key decision makers and trade media as well as destination presentations and one-to-one meetings at the Dubai stand.

“Imex America is also one of the key milestones in our journey towards the first-ever Dubai Association Conference, and we are already seeing substantial interest from potential delegates. We aim to further build on this interest at Imex America as we steadily approach the conference scheduled to take place later this year.”

DBE witnessed a strong performance in the first half of the year, with the bureau reporting 97 bid wins that were awarded to the city. The events secured in the first half of 2017 are poised to attract over 51,636 delegates from around the world, resulting in an economic impact of approximately Dh375 million ($102 million). Visitors to the Dubai stand at Imex America can experience first-hand the factors that have contributed to the city’s success in attracting major international meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions from around the world and across diverse sectors. - TradeArabia News Service