The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has revealed that Dubai underlined its status as a leading regional destination for meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) during DTCM's recent participation in the IMEX 2010 worldwide exhibition for MICE in Frankfurt, Germany. At the event, the DTCM stand received an overwhelming response from potential exhibitors and event organisers who were keen to visit Dubai and explore the opportunities it offers as a destination for events.
Dubai's MICE sector performed impressively in 2009, with the Dubai World Trade Centre receiving 1.24 million exhibition and conference visitors to post a 12 per cent increase over 2008.
"The solid representation of Dubai's tourism sector during the exhibition underlines the importance of Germany's MICE market for Dubai. Through DTCM's participation and the cooperation of its partners as well as the Dubai Convention Bureau we were able to provide comprehensive information on the emirate's MICE sector and new projects related to this field. The overwhelming number of enquiries we received from potential exhibitors and organisers who were keen on capitalizing on Dubai's stature as a leading MICE destination was highly encouraging," said Hamad Bin Mohammed Bin Mejren, Executive Director of Business Tourism.
IMEX 2010 welcomed 3,500 exhibitors from 150 countries and representatives from more than 3,800 international travel agencies specializing in the MICE business. The DTCM delegation included Hamad Bin Mohammed Bin Mejren, Executive Director of Business Tourism; Saleh Mohammed Al Geziry, Director of Overseas Promotion and Inward Missions; Ali Abdul Wahab, Head of East & West Europe region; and Walid Marhoon, Senior Account Executive and Abdullah Yousef, Sales Officers working for the Dubai International Convention of the Department. Participation in IMEX 2010 marked DTCM's eighth consecutive involvement in the annual event, which is considered one of the most important trade shows covering the MICE sector.
Captain Yaser Rashid Al Khenboli, Head of Coordination and Follow-up Management of the Foreign Service center, and Lieutenant Omar Mattar Bin Mazinah, Head of Employment Permits section, also joined the event to represent Dubai's General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs.
The Dubai delegates included 46 representatives from the tourism sector representing Emirates Airlines, the Dubai World Trade Centre and the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs. They participated in IMEX 2010 via DTCM's 350- square meter stand. The group was able to confirm over 80 appointments and generate 6 leads during the event. Moreover, a 2014 regional congress was also confirmed for Dubai.
"The latest edition of the exhibition was very timely and enabled us to showcase Dubai's MICE opportunities. We emphasized advantages such as Dubai's unique geographical location and modern infrastructure to present the emirate as a unique and attractive MICE destination," added Al Geziry.
