Participants at the ICCA workshop in Doha.
According to industry experts, conferences & conventions present great potential for GCC economies and ICCA workshop in Doha empowers local business events stakeholders to bid for and execute global events.
A number of conferences and conventions are moving away from Europe and the USA and towards the GCC, presenting Gulf countries with a golden economic opportunity, according to industry experts.
“We have seen events that were due to take place in Europe and the US relocate to Gulf countries due to concerns around accessibility and safety,” said Mahir Abdulkarim Julfar, Geographic Representative for the Middle East for ICCA (The International Congress and Convention Association).
According to Julfar, who also holds the position of Vice President-Commercial in the Dubai World Trade Centre, business events such as conferences and conventions provide enormous potential for the diversification of economies in the Gulf. “This sector alone contributes 3.1% directly to Dubai’s GDP,” he commented.
Julfar spoke at ICCA Meetings Industry Developments Workshop, organised by Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), which brought together members of the business events industry, including venues, professional conference orgnaisers and destination management companies. Sixty-three professionals from across the region attended and participated in the workshop. Held as part of QTA’s efforts to empower the private business events sector, the workshop introduced participants to the ingredients required for a successful bid strategy and offered ways to benefit from the ICCA database of international associations in order to increase the number of association meetings held in Qatar.
ICCA is a global body that specialises in the international association meetings sector, offering unrivalled data, communication channels, and business development opportunities to members in 90 countries.
“None of the growth we achieve in this sector can be sustainable if we work on our own — only collectively as an industry can we meet the needs of meeting planners and business tourists searching for the ideal destination. That is why we are focusing on empowering the private sector to bid for and host global events,” commented Ahmed Al Obaidli, Director of Exhibitions at QTA. Qatar is seeking a 20% increase in visitors over the next five years, and expects a large portion of the increase to come from visitors attending business events.
