(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM))
ABU DHABI, 16th May, 2017 (WAM) -- Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau, a division of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, TCA Abu Dhabi, is spearheading a delegation representing an array of new products to Germany to participate in IMEX Frankfurt 2017, the worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events, MICE.
TCA Abu Dhabi has identified Business Tourism as a primary segment of a holistic strategy for Abu Dhabi's tourism sector which could lead to up to 4 percent GDP contribution by 2021, and MICE growth of 7 percent, with participation in events such as IMEX Frankfurt 2017 playing a key role in facilitating such vital growth.
Commenting on the expectations from the high-calibre Abu Dhabi delegation, Saif Saeed Ghobash, Director-General of TCA Abu Dhabi, said, "2016 was a record-breaking year for Abu Dhabi in terms of visitor numbers, with an estimated 2.2 million visits made for business travel purposes, and we have ambitious targets to grow this to three million business visitors by 2021. Our partners will validate that Abu Dhabi offers the necessary intrinsic industry support to succeed as a hub for business travel, including world class infrastructure and exhibition facilities such as ADNEC, which reflect the diversity and resilience of the emirate's MICE sector."
Led by Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau, the delegation will comprise an 18-strong portfolio of products, including representatives from Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Yas Island, a selection of leading hotels and resorts, destination management companies, tour operators, and the emirate's national airline, Etihad Airways.
Mubarak Al Shamisi, Director of Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau, said, "The German-speaking markets in Europe make a substantial contribution to the emirate's hotel guest numbers. Last year Germany, Switzerland and Austria contributed 755,657 guest nights with an above industry-average 4.49 night length of stay, which together represents our longest stayers and third largest international source market behind India and the UK."
"Our primary objectives at IMEX are to develop strong partner marketing initiatives with the leading MICE operators to further grow the emirate's presence. We are continuing to press home our Advantage Abu Dhabi incentive programme and will petition high-performing sectors of the German economy, in particular the medical, automotive and financial services sectors to boost arrivals in 2017 and sustain the growth," added Al Shamisi.
Participation at IMEX follows news that Abu Dhabi has maintained its position in the top 100 busiest global meetings destinations by the International Congress and Convention Association's, ICCA, global city rankings.
In total, the bureau successfully attracted 36 association meetings in 2016, placing the UAE capital in 74th place of the MICE industry's leading industry ranking, outperforming the cities of Cancun in Mexico and Valencia in Spain which shared equal-billing in the previous year's ranking, and ahead of Frankfurt, host city of the IMEX exhibition.
"We have been working tirelessly to attract more meetings to the city in an increasingly competitive global environment, and there are bright prospects for further improvement based on our latest wins," added Al Shamisi. "The implementation of our unified Events Licensing System will further streamline the process for event organisers and is also expected to attract more meetings to Abu Dhabi, boosting our 2017 ranking."
WAM/Nour/Chris
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