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Muscat - The Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre (OCEC) has signed an agreement with Oman International Trade and Exhibitions (OITE), one of the nation's largest event organising and marketing companies which has been serving various industry sectors from technology and environment to education and travel for over 20 years.
"We are delighted to have signed this important agreement with OITE. They have an impressive portfolio of popular and established events and their expertise and experience in organising and presenting trade fairs, conferences and festivals is well-respected in the market," said Trevor McCartney, OCEC General Manager. "We look forward to working closely with OITE - the calibre of events they organise is exactly the kind that will benefit from OCEC's outstanding facilities."
Nick Hodge, Managing Director of OITE added, "This agreement is a powerful statement of intent between two strong partners with one common goal - to build world-leading events in the Sultanate of Oman. We are extremely excited about partnering with this prestigious venue. OCEC is good news not only for Oman's business events industry but for the Sultanate in general, given the economic opportunities it will bring."
The agreement includes the hosting of OITE events including; the ICT show COMEX, the education fair GHEDEX, the environmental expo Gulf Eco, the facility management expo OMFC, the International Tourism and Hospitality Show and the Omanisation Career Fair.
The OCEC General Manager went on to explain: "While OCEC has engaged with a range of international organisations, in fact, we have been approached to host many of the world's most prestigious congresses, our local partners are of paramount importance to us. We believe in showcasing Oman to the world and forging strong and sustainable relationships with the local business community helps us to maximise countrywide benefits. With less than 10 months to opening, agreements such as the one we have signed with OITE will be very much at the heart of OCEC's ongoing success."
Indeed, the events held at OCEC, from international conferences and product launches to concerts and trade shows, will generate wide-ranging value for the centre, its partners and the community in general. Attendees will go on to experience Muscat and all it has to offer with direct financial benefit to hotels, restaurants, transportation services, tour operators, attractions and retail outlets. Research shows that non-resident delegates typically spend four times more than tourists and often extend their stay with pre and post conference travel.
While strongly anchored in the local community, the new world-class and purpose built convention and exhibition centre is attracting considerable interest from international business events' industry leaders, depicting the Sultanate as one of the world's most exciting emerging convention destinations and the OCEC as a regional venue of choice.
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About the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre
Opening in 2016, the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre is located in its own fully integrated precinct only four kilometres from Muscat International Airport.
The design of the Centre will ensure a flow of the meetings space to suit the most discerning conference and exhibition organisers. It also incorporated expansive concourse areas to enable ease of large delegations with floor to ceiling windows overlooking landscaped gardens and water features.
The Centre will feature two tiered auditoria to seat 3,200 and 450 while the five exhibition halls will feature 22,000 square metres of column-free exhibition space. Hall 1 will have a superior fit out, specialised acoustic treatment, advanced lighting and rigging requirements to act as a multi-purpose space for plenary sessions, concerts, performances, gala events on a larger scale. Halls 1 & 2 combined will seat up to 10,000 seated, theatre-style.
The Centre will also include an additional 13 meeting rooms for 80-300 delegates, two well-appointed ballrooms to seat up to 2,360, 10 hospitality suites, VIP Pavilion, a spacious food-court and a multi-storey car park with capacity for 4,000 vehicles.
The Precinct will provide the infrastructure necessary to host successful international, regional and local events and for the enjoyment of the community. These include a five star hotel linked to the convention centre, two four star, and a three star hotel and apartments with a combined total of 1,000 rooms. A business park, retail shopping mall surrounded by a nature reserve which will be a haven for Oman's exotic birdlife, parklands and wadi (valley) park are also part of this picturesque precinct. www.omanconvention.com
About AEG Ogden
AEG Ogden is an Australian controlled joint venture between Australian venue management interests and AEG Facilities of the United States.
AEG Ogden manages venues throughout the Asia Pacific region, including convention centres in Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Kuala Lumpur, Hyderabad (currently in design), Oman (opening 2016), the ICC Sydney (opening December 2016) and the Sydney Exhibition Centre @ Glebe Island; Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane; arenas including the Brisbane Entertainment Centre and the adjacent Sports Centre, Sydney's Allphones Arena, the Qantas Credit Union Arena (formerly the Sydney Entertainment Centre), the Newcastle Entertainment Centre and Perth Arena; and live theatres including Perth's His Majesty's Theatre, Perth Concert Hall, the WA State Theatre Centre, Albany Entertainment Centre, and Subiaco Arts Centre. www.aegogden.com
In addition, AEG Facilities was recently announced as operator of both the Los Angeles Convention Centre and Hawaii Convention Centre.
Media contact:
Shaza Taher
Associate Media Relations Director
TRACCS
Email: shaza.taher@traccs.net
To download imagery to support this release visit http://www.omanconvention.com/Gallery/Centre_Images.aspx
© Press Release 2015
