Twelve months after unveiling ambitious plans for a new national exhibition centre at the 2006 Arabian Travel Market (ATM), the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) will exhibit its completed flagship venue at this year’s ATM, which is being held in Dubai from May 01 – 04, 2007.
ADNEC will showcase the new Exhibition Centre, which opened recently in February, in an extensive pavilion organised by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA). As one of the burgeoning hubs of the international Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) industries, Abu Dhabi will be promoted as the ideal venue for business travel during the event, which is expected to attract an audience of more than 20,000 industry professionals.
Simon Horgan, CEO, ADNEC commented, “Only one year ago, ADNEC went to the ATM to present its vision for the future of the exhibition industry in the UAE. Twelve months on, we have opened the most modern exhibition facility in the world, we have signed deals with four of the world’s most important event organisers and we have a calendar packed full of exhibitions and events.”
ADNEC recently opened Phase One of the state-of-the-art National Exhibition Centre in Abu Dhabi, with the venue, considered to be the most modern in the world, taking only eight months to construct. An equally rapid pace is expected for the next stage of development, which includes the construction of Phase Two of the Exhibition Centre, the creation of a new gravity defying iconic tower and the emergence of a new micro-city of residential and commercial towers.
In a recent study, Abu Dhabi was tipped as one of the Arabian Gulf's high fliers over the coming year for the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) industry. The UAE Capital City is expected to be the region's second top meetings industry performer over the coming 12 months, a rise of nine places in just one year.
“Something very special is happening in Abu Dhabi and international shows such as ATM are a great vehicle for us to communicate this,” Horgan added.
During the ATM exhibition, Paul Vincent, Sales and Marketing Director of ADNEC, will be participating in a panel discussion dedicated to understanding the Middle East’s meetings industry and breaking down the MICE acronym into its distinct components. Other Panel members will include Roger Tondeur, President and Founder of MCI; and Debbie Stanford-Kristiansen, MICE Director at the Bahrain Exhibition and Convention Authority.
When fully complete in 2008, ADNEC will provide 55,000 square metres of fully interconnected exhibition floor space, making it one of the largest exhibition centres in the Middle East. ADNEC is expected to attract more than one million visitors a year to Abu Dhabi from 2008 and grow the UAE exhibition industry by at least 25 per cent.
In addition to ATM, ADNEC and the ADTA will be participating at shows in the UK, Spain, France, Japan and Russia during the next six months. ADNEC is located at stand UAE 121 at ATM 2007.
About ِADNEC:
The Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) is a first class MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) venue in the Middle East. ADNEC is following an expansion strategy with the aim of catalyzing the MICE industry in the UAE capital, and is developing a brand new 148,000 square metre business and leisure district termed the Capital Centre. Situated close to the Airport, the AED 8 billion Centre will house the state-of-the-art Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, an iconic 35-storeyed Feature Tower, a micro-city consisting residential, commercial and hotel accommodation, a marina and waterfront leisure zone and an existing grandstand. The exhibition centre project is being undertaken in three phases, and is expected to complete by 2009.
