When the 63rd ICCA Congress 2024 heads to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), this October, interactions and new knowledge from the high-profile gathering of meetings industry professionals and leaders will shape plans for the city’s business events industry advancement and raise the capability of association executives and meetings practitioners across the UAE.
Mubarak Al Shamsi, director, Abu Dhabi Convention & Exhibition Bureau, told TTGmice that Abu Dhabi stands to benefit a lot from hosting the congress.
Recalling the motivation behind the city’s bid for the congress hosting rights, Mubarak said: “We understood (from the start) that we were not just bidding for the sake of it, for the sake of having an event in Abu Dhabi. We understood that ICCA represents the global associations and meetings industry, and we will take our learnings from the congress and use them to develop the blueprint for the advancement of Abu Dhabi’s MICE sector.”
As Abu Dhabi presses on with its commitment to become the business events hub of the UAE and to leverage both business events and tourism for economic growth, Mubarak said “it is clear that the congress will be a key part of the destination’s continued evolution as a leading MICE destination”.
He emphasised Abu Dhabi’s readiness for the congress, pointing out that the city was ranked top destination for association meetings in the Middle East by ICCA in 2022.
“The international associations community recognises Abu Dhabi’s many strengths – iconic venues, great attractions, good connectivity where you can access two thirds of the world with only six-hour flights from Abu Dhabi, and the diverse investments our government has made into different industry sectors like innovation and life sciences,” he added.
He said the number of business events in Abu Dhabi had surged more than 44 per cent in recent years, bringing more than 960,000 delegates onto its land.
Positive impacts from the congress will spread beyond the city, opined Jasmine Lew, senior project head with Abu Dhabi Convention & Exhibition Bureau, who believes that the congress in Abu Dhabi also presents a valuable opportunity for the international meetings community to engage with Middle East associations.
She said: “There are many associations in our region, but they are not yet functioning at an international level. They are not doing conferences at an international level; some are not even meeting at a regional level. Hence, the congress is a catalyst for capacity and capability building.”
Lew hopes to attract members from international associations to mentor local representatives.
Mubarak also sees benefits for ICCA. The congress will function as a vehicle for the association to “build its footprint in the region and expand its Middle Eastern network”.
With the congress taking place in four month’s time, Abu Dhabi Convention & Exhibition Bureau and the city’s meetings sector stakeholders are firming up destination experience programmes for attendees.
However, Mubarak said it was not time yet to “give away details”.
“Just know that Abu Dhabi is a very competitive destination and we recognise that a big part of the congress experience is the destination experience. We are thinking out of the box and will deliver something that has never been done before at an ICCA Congress,” he teased.
Lew simply said that delegates would be taken out and around Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi’s tourism offerings have expanded with new lures like Snow Abu Dhabi and SeaWorld Abu Dhabi. The former promises snow activities all year round while the latter has a part to play in marine life rehabilitation. Coming up within the year is the interactive art presentation, teamLab Phenomena in the Saadiyat Cultural District.
In an earlier interview with sister title TTG Asia, Abdulla Yousuf, director of international operations with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, stated that the city’s existing attractions were still refreshing for many visitors, and visitor experience development efforts were focused not only on highlighting new draws but also finding new ways to enjoy current attractions and landmarks.
