Abu Dhabi sets up fund to support business tourism in capital
Abu Dhabi has launched a fund aimed at further increasing corporate events and incentive travel in the emirate, as the UAE capital seeks to expand business tourism.
The fund will use public-private partnerships to boost business-to-business events, providing financial support and incentives to event organisers, agencies and companies to host their meetings in the emirate, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said.
The Abu Dhabi Convention and Exhibition Bureau (ADCEB), part of the emirate’s Department of Culture and Tourism, signed an initial agreement with the Adnec Group, owner and operator of Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, to jointly form the fund. The partnership is “a tremendous step in further solidifying our position as a leading global destination for business events of all kinds”, said Saleh Al Geziry, director general of the tourism sector at DCT Abu Dhabi.
“Together we can create the ultimate destination package that showcases the best of the emirate and attracts ever greater numbers of large-scale and high-profile events to Abu Dhabi.”
The emirate has increased efforts to host global business events that gather top investors, entrepreneurs, policymakers, executives and startup founders.
Abu Dhabi will host the Annual Investment Meeting next month as it focuses on attracting more foreign direct investment and diversifying its economy away from oil. It will also host the UN Conference on Trade and Development’s eighth World Investment Forum in October.
Mubarak Al Shamsi, director of ADCEB, told The National in September last year that Abu Dhabi’s meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (Mice) industry was “growing very fast” on the back of government policies, as well as the availability of good infrastructure for hosting business events.
“We have a 10-year strategy that focuses on growing and positioning Abu Dhabi as a Mice international hub,” he said at the time.
The new fund is aimed at organisers of international corporate meetings and events who are interested in holding their events at Adnec. “This comes as part of our efforts to strengthen business tourism in Abu Dhabi and the UAE, and attract more companies to choose Abu Dhabi as an ideal destination for hosting any meetings, conferences, exhibitions, or events,” said Humaid Al Dhaheri, managing director and group chief executive of Adnec Group.
For events planned between May 1, 2023 and December 31, 2024, applicants can approach either ADCEB or the Adnec Group to inquire about the eligibility of support towards their events through the joint fund, the media office said.
ADCEB’s existing initiatives that focus on the growth of the Mice sector include the Advantage Abu Dhabi Meetings & Incentives 2.0, an upgraded programme that stimulates Mice activities in the region. “The ADCEB and Adnec Group joint fund is an added tool for international and domestic agencies to promote Abu Dhabi and fills a gap in Advantage Abu Dhabi’s support for groups of over 500 delegates,” the media office said.
Passenger traffic across Abu Dhabi’s five airports exceeded annual forecasts and tripled last year from 2021, amid a broad leisure and business travel recovery from the coronavirus-induced slowdown.
A total of 15.9 million passengers used Abu Dhabi International, Al Ain International, Al Bateen Executive, Delma Island and Sir Bani Yas Island airports last year, up 202 per cent from 5.26 million passengers in 2021, according to Abu Dhabi Airports.
“We are working towards readiness to accommodate even greater passenger traffic in 2023, which we anticipate as higher numbers of international visitors come to the UAE for key events, including the coming Cop28 [climate conference],” Jamal Al Dhaheri, managing director and chief executive of Abu Dhabi Airports, said in February.