Monday, Jun 03, 2013
Dubai: Officials have awarded a record 22 individuals and organisations for their role in attracting international events to Dubai, a city that aims to attract 20 million visitors by 2020.
They were awarded during the Al Safeer (Ambassadors) Annual Recognition Event by the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing on Monday.
The winners were honoured at Dubai’s JW Marriot Marquis hotel for their contribution to DTCM’s efforts in attracting Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (Mice) activity to Dubai.
More than 10 million visitors flocked to Dubai in 2012, many because of a series of international business events hosted in Dubai.
The city won bids to host 235 Mice events in the last 10 years. Dubai is also one of five bid cities competing to host the World 2020 Expo, with the winner expected to be announced in November.
DTCM director general Helal Saeed Al Merri said: “One of the pillars of our strategy for 2020 is to make Dubai the preferred location for the world to do business… Critical to this is increasing coordination with Mice stakeholders in the city and making Dubai a dynamic hub for major conventions.”
The ‘Ambassadors’ facilitated in the third such ceremony had made a “demonstrable contribution” to Dubai’s Mice edge, working closely with the DTCM division of Dubai Convention and Events Bureau.
DCEB works closely with organisations bidding to host Mice events in Dubai, providing crucial support in the process.
“Joint efforts are always better. Dubai has the best of facilities and infrastructure, a strategic location between the West and the East,” said Hamad Bin Mejren, DTCM’s executive director for business tourism.
“We’ve a strong bid file for Expo 2020. I hope Dubai makes it because it’ll contribute to the future boom, not to mention the legacy after the Expo.”
Those awarded later shared their experiences in winning bids to host events in Dubai.
The Society of Petroleum Engineers will be holding their international annual meeting in Dubai in September 2016. “It was not very easy to bid for that, there were concerns — how expensive are the hotel rooms, how will visas work out for 100-plus nationalities attending, etc,” said Waleed Refaay, SoPE managing director-Mena and India region.
“We had great support from DCEB, they put us at ease with our concerns and put us in touch with the right people.”
In 2014, the American University in Dubai (AUD) will be hosting the World Engineering Education Forum in partnership with the Society of Engineers (SoE)-UAE at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
“Dubai’s the place to go, yes, [but] you’ve got to show that through extensive documents, pictures, presentations, hosting visiting officials, etc. With DTCM, we successfully did that,” said Dr Alaa K Ashwamy, AUD Dean of School of Engineering.
Meanwhile, the SoE-UAE is also bidding for the World Tunnel Congress to be held in Dubai in 2018.
Speaking about the prospects of such a development, SoE-UAE general manager Majid Hanna said: “As the professional body of engineers in the country, they [the organisers] want to work with us. With the DTCM there to help us, and others, we’re confidently looking at taking this forward.”
By Faisal Masudi Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
