The Dubai Convention Bureau (DCB), a division of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), has, in line with their vision to position Dubai as the leading tourism destination and commercial hub of the world, collaborated with a number of private and public sector organisations to secure some of world’s leading conferences and exhibitions for Dubai.
DCB has in the past contributed to bringing such prestigious events and conferences to Dubai such as the International Diabetes Federation, World Heart Federation, International Bar Association and the World Energy Forum and is continuing to solidify Dubai’s place as a leading Mice destination.
More recently, DTCM further expanded its promotion of Dubai’s tourism assets through a partnership with the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA). The DTCM has announced Dubai as the official host of the ASTA International Destination Expo (IDE) 2013 to be held in Dubai in April of next year. ASTA estimates attendance in Dubai next year will be between 500 and 700 travel agents.
Hamad M Bin Mejren, executive director of Business Tourism at DTCM, said: 'The prestige of hosting ASTA’s IDE next year is a great honour and recognised throughout the tourism and convention industries worldwide.'
'Cities from around the globe vie for this opportunity. We can expect to see continued growth of North American tourism traffic in 2013 and beyond as these ASTA agents serve as new ambassadors for Dubai, spreading their enthusiasm to new clients from around the world. '
Commenting on Dubai’s growing success as a destination for business tourism Mejren said, 'The leadership of the UAE has continually underlined and supported the importance of the development of the Mice industry in the Emirates, recognising that congress development is key to tourism success.
The strong infrastructure network, air accessibility and abundance of hotel options in Dubai make it an ideal choice for international meetings. Dubai has established a considerable reputation as an exceptional destination for meetings and conferences and has hosted some impressive international events.
In 2011, Dubai hosted 34 international association meetings, not taking into account corporate meetings, incentives and exhibitions. The International Convention and Congress Association (ICCA) ranked Dubai as first in the Middle East and as one of the major international meeting destinations globally, with Dubai surfacing as a top contender amongst well established meetings destinations such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Melbourne.
This year Dubai will also host The World Conference on International Telecommunications, the Global Standards Symposium and The World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly, with a total number of delegates expected to be over 11,000. In 2013 the Emirate will be playing host to the Interdisciplinary World Congress on Low Back and Pelvic Pain, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication Congress and Exhibition, and the International Destination Expo 2013.
Further major international events are also set to take place in Dubai in 2014, namely the duel events of the Congress of the Asian Pacific Dental Federation (APDF) and the Scientific Conference of Asian Pacific Endodontic Confederation (APEC) and the International Symposium on Electronic Art, which will be taking place outside of Europe for the first time since its inception.
Remarking on the importance of Mice tourism on the economic front, Jerad Bachar, CDME director of DCB said, 'The recent volatility in the international financial markets has put a major strain on many facets of the tourism trade. Mice is however the one sector of tourism that has bounced back, perhaps even stronger and with great speed.
As such, meetings, events, and other business tourism segments have a major role to play in injecting funds into our economy. Apart from the direct revenues that these events generate, there is a more far-reaching secondary effect, as delegates to any conference invariably will return to the destination for other commerce and trade activities or even for leisure vacations.'