Tag Archives: MICE

Pioneer in hosting large-scale international events in the region, city of Baku will once again take a central stage by hosting the 74th International Astronautical Congress on October 2nd-6th 2023. Being the main event venue, Baku Convention Center will be the hub for global space communities to exchange the most recent space developments and discuss the global challenges and opportunities for the space industry. The ultra-modern halls of the Baku Convention Center will bring together more than 5000 international and local official delegates and high representatives, space academia scholars, students and association members in a comfortable ambiance and professional setup. With its dazzling architecture and cutting-edge solutions to any arising issue, BCC will pave the way for the Congress/IAC to celebrate its event success again following its first visit to Baku right 50 years ago organizing 24th edition of the IAC. Known for its potential in managing loaded traffic flow and phenomenal flexibility, Baku Convention Center is excited to host the world’s premier global space event, bring together like-minded space actors and celebrate space triumphs altogether!  

Malta’s delegation at the AVIAREPS Travel Caravan included DMC’s that promote luxury and MICE travel. Middle East is an emerging market to Malta at present, but once the borders opened, there had been a surge from this market towards Malta. Speaking with Travel TV, Chris Micallef, General Manager Avon Brockdorff Services Limited, “This is a relatively a new market for us, we represent an agency Malta DMC where we specialise in MICE, Events, groups and conferences, meetings as well as luxury travel so it was nice to meet people and showcase what Malta offers in this sector and it does offer quite a lot in this sector and value for money. A lot of people are not aware of the many offerings available in Malta so basically the agents asked questions about what you can do for incentives, is there enough conference space, facilities, hotels, also what I explained was that Malta is a small country its only 27km long and you don’t spend more time there. We also spoke about cuisine which is another attraction of the destination.” Damon Camilleri Allan, Exclusively Malta, a luxury DMC in the Maltese islands shared, “It’s a privilege to be here, it’s a unique situation as we represent luxury travel as well as small group travel what that means is when we say luxury it doesn’t always mean the price tag rather the exclusivity, uniqueness and private nature of the experiences for guests. The uniqueness of our storyline is Malta is the ultimate Mediterranean experience because of our relationship with partners, artisans, farmers etc we can offer exclusivity which no one else can have which we believe our clients from this region would really …

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) announced the launch of an enhanced Advantage Abu Dhabi Meetings & Incentives 2.0 programme at IMEX Frankfurt, the key industry-leading exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events. The announcement made today unveiled the latest part of DCT Abu Dhabi’s strategy to further stimulate the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions (MICE) sector in the emirate post-pandemic. With global destinations increasingly bidding and attracting corporate groups, the enhanced programme builds on the existing Advantage Abu Dhabi Meetings & Incentives programme, which was launched in 2019, to provide additional value-adds and benefits to meetings and incentives organisers looking to host events in the capital, in order to remain competitive as the MICE industry continues to reopen. The programme encourages organisers to ‘Get The Advantage’, leveraging the UAE capital’s reputation as delivering unrivalled hospitality in the world’s safest city, a place which offers extensive support alongside strategic initiatives, and a destination with a packed calendar of thrilling events. The revamped programme forms part of a wider, ongoing strategy to increase Abu Dhabi’s MICE market share and further establish the emirate as one of the world’s leading business events destinations. It follows the launch of several new initiatives, including a recent collaboration with Etihad Airways to offer benefits to corporate groups looking to hold business events in the capital, such as discounted air-tickets, group booking discounts, complimentary flights and special flight rates for inspection trips to Abu Dhabi. Mubarak Al Shamisi, Director of Abu Dhabi Convention and Exhibition Bureau (ADCEB) at DCT Abu Dhabi, said: “We are delighted to launch our enhanced Advantage Abu Dhabi Meetings & Incentives programme which will enable us …

Oman Air Holidays has signed a partnership agreement with CONNECT, a subsidiary of Oman’s SABCO Group, becoming exclusive travel partner for all CONNECT events on the 2022 calendar. As the Sultanate of Oman’s leading provider of inbound and outbound flight and holiday packages, Oman Air Holidays will offer event delegates, exhibitors and visitors a variety of exclusive accommodation and tour packages, comprising flight tickets, transfers, excursions and bespoke itineraries and add-ons. “The 2022 MICE season in Oman is shaping up to be a busy one, and we’re delighted to partner with CONNECT to facilitate and enhance the offering of exclusive hotel and tour packages available to everyone attending exhibitions this year,” said Mundher Al Shaikhani, Senior Manager at Oman Air Holidays. “With five large-scale exhibitions already confirmed on CONNECT’s 2022 calendar, Oman Air Holidays has assembled customizable packages offering bespoke add-ons and itineraries for those wanting to explore Muscat and other regions in the Sultanate during their stay.” Commenting on the partnership, Sayyid Khalid bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, Chairman of CONNECT and SABCO Group, said “CONNECT are proud to be partnering with the Sultanate of Oman’s national carrier and tour operator, Oman Air Holidays. This partnership is borne through the shared ambition to position the Sultanate as a world class hub for the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibition (MICE) industry, an industry that has a fundamental role to play in stimulating in-country trade and investment, and in achieving the Oman 2040 Vision. Additionally, international exhibitors, delegates and visitors who attend CONNECT’s market leading events will now have the opportunity to experience Oman Air’s multiple award winning services, and through Oman Air Holidays’ extensive network of hotels, transportation services …

OYO Hotels & Homes welcomed over 100,000 guests from 78 countries across 14 properties and 20 homes in the UAE, since its launch in April last year. With this lease and full inventory control model, OYO currently manages 1,300 rooms within these properties in Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al-Khaimah and Fujairah and is set to touch 12,000 rooms by 2020. Since the first 9 months of its launch, the hotel chain has received guests from within the UAE, which accounted for 45.73 per cent of their guests and the remaining from countries such as India, Oman, Saudi Arabia, France, Russia, United States, Australia, Italy, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Mauritius and United Kingdom, among several other counties. OYO aims to grow its market share through its ‘Manchise’ business model — a unique business model that combines the best of management contract and franchise agreement. Through this model, OYO aims to grow its footprint within the two-, three- and four-star hotels in the UAE.  With nearly 15.8 million overnight visitors in 2017, Dubai retained its ranking as the fourth most visited city in the world for the fourth year in a row, according to Mastercard’s Global Destination Cities Index. Dubai was ahead of Singapore, followed by New York, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Istanbul, and Seoul. Manu Midha, Regional Head — Middle East, OYO Hotels & Homes, said, “OYO has now grown to become a preferred choice for several nationalities across the globe due to its ideal location, quality and also the price point. At the moment, we have touched around 78 countries and we are going to take this number higher due to the upcoming EXPO 2020. With 190 nations already signed up, we are confident that our …

Millenium Hotels has signed an agreement with Hotelbeds Group that grants all of the Hotelbeds Group brands (Hotelbeds, Bedsonline, Tourico Holidays and GTA) with direct real-time access to over 1.4 million of Millennium Hotels and Resorts’ annual room nights in more than 60 global business and leisure travel destinations. The pact will strengthen Millennium Hotels and Resorts’ distribution through Hotelbeds’ presence in more than 140 markets, spanning a wide range of channels including airlines, MiCE operators, point redemption schemes, retail travel agencies and tour operators representing over 60,000 travel distributors. Mark Redmond, Head – Global Chains, Hotelbeds Group, commented: “We are delighted to be connecting to Millennium Hotels and Resorts’ global hospitality offering. This will be a strong relationship in delivering special rates and availability across the MHR portfolio to our clients, while giving MHR access to higher-margin, niche segments of the travel market.” Also, Nayan Peshkar, Senior Vice President, Digital, Distribution and Revenue Strategy, Millennium Hotels and Resorts, said, “We are pleased to be working with Hotelbeds. This supports the Group’s wider distribution strategy of reducing reliance on static rate and room agreements in the leisure segment.”

One of the most important MiCE events in the emirate of Sharjah, this year’s Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) opened under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member, Supreme Council and Ruler, Sharjah. Now in its 37th year, the fair has attracted visitors from across the globe and is considered as the second-largest book fair in the world. This edition will be hosting more than 20 million books from 1.6 million titles, 80,000 of which are new titles, and 1,874 publishing houses from 77 countries. The event will be curating 1800 events and featuring 472 guests from around the world with 200 book signing ceremonies for authors from 19 countries. Japan is the Guest of Honour at this year’s edition in celebration of its cultural and creative achievements. SIBF will be organising more than 100 activities comprising 13 Japanese authors and creative artists. The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) announced the launch of its interactive blog during its participation at the SIBF, with an aim to encourage visitors and residents of Sharjah to share their positive experiences in the emirate. The blog provides an ideal platform to share memorable experiences of visits to the emirate’s tourism and entertainment sites. In a move to better engage audiences, SCTDA’s blog will run a contest encouraging participants to write articles on their views and personal experiences about Sharjah in 300 to 400 words. Participants must focus on one of the three main categories – Culture and Heritage; Food and Street Food and Adventures and submissions, and it can include photos and a video. The participants should submit their entries through the official website www.visitsharjah.com for …

The new five-star luxury destination Grand Millennium Business Bay has opened on the banks of the Dubai Water Canal. Scheduled for an official opening at the end of 2018 and all set to become a landmark in the vibrant district of Business Bay, the 251-room hotel will cater to a mix of leisure and business travellers, with plans for seven F&B venues, 11 fully equipped meeting rooms brimming with natural daylight, a 455 square metre ballroom to accommodate more than 600 guests, spa, health club and swimming pool. Currently in its soft opening phase, the facilities available for business include the Beau Rivage Bar, a casual European inspired café opening out onto the canal waterfront, The Podium, the international all-day-dining restaurant and the Lounge. Ziad El Hawi, General Manager of Grand Millennium Business Bay, comments, “Grand Millennium Business Bay offers all the modern comforts and state-of-the-art facilities to please any type of traveller – whether it’s tourists to Dubai; thanks to our close proximity to the airport and city’s iconic attractions or residents who will seek out our F&B outlets, MiCE and leisure facilities.”

Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) has announced that it is primed to host a very busy events season with its venues to be fully occupied by major local and international events before the end of this year, with more than 50 exhibitions and conferences across key sectors including culture, healthcare, leisure, lifestyle, and business. Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, Group CEO of ADNEC, said, “ADNEC seeks to strengthen Abu Dhabi’s position as the capital of business tourism sector in the region, by attracting major international events to the Emirate. We have completed all preparations needed to host more than 50 major and international events before the end of 2018, which is a confirmation of our success in this field. ADNEC’s workforce, led by a group of highly skilled professional national talents, have worked on developing a wide range of programs aimed at attracting exhibitors and international associations. The coming season will witness exhibitions and conferences hosted and organized for the first time, in accordance with the key sectors identified by the Abu Dhabi plan and the Emirate’s vision 2030.” Al Dhaheri noted ADNEC’s keenness to continue developing infrastructure for all its local and international venues, making all efforts needed to enhance customer satisfaction and exceed the expectations of events organizers and local and international visitors, while conforming to the highest international standards in this competitive sector. He also commended the efforts of the government and private sectors partners, especially the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism and the Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau, as well as exhibition organisers and representatives of local and international professional associations.

The Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island Resort, a 641-Room Property opening in 2019, will be located in the Yas Bay, a 3-kilometre stretch that is anticipated to become one of the most iconic and vibrant waterfront destinations in the region. The resort’s facilities will include a multi-purpose conference centre, seven dining outlets and an innovative urban beach concept with an infinity pool suspended above the waters of the Arabian Gulf. The resort is also nearby the Yas Arena, a multi-purpose indoor arena designed to host large- and intimate-scale events, including sporting competitions, major cultural performances, concerts and MICE activities. B.R. Kiran, Chief Portfolio Officer of Miral said: “We are proud to announce our partnership with Hilton, which represents another milestone in our journey to establish Yas Island as a top global destination. The creation of a world-class family resort at the heart of Yas Bay, our iconic waterfront development, will provide visitors with a five-star opportunity to extend their leisure and business stays and enjoy the unique attractions and memorable experiences that only Yas Island can offer.”