Destinations aiming for the conventions market need to work together to promote the region as a whole, Dubai Convention Bureau director has said.
While Dubai is the main draw for MICE tourism in the Middle East, Jerad Bachar said that cities like Abu Dhabi and Doha should not be seen as competitors and instead be worked with to enhance the region.
Each destination has its own business sector specialities, and working with the other cities would mean that the Middle East could offer a more comprehensive range of opportunities.
Bachar said: “As Doha increases, as Abu Dhabi increases, there’s nothing that will restrict Dubai from growing as well. We each have our own mandates and focuses – some of us work in different sectors within the MICE industry.”
“It’s the same thing when you look at any other region – we often compare Dubai and Abu Dhabi to other markets where they have similar sized cities and similar caches – we compare them to New York and Washington DC. Just because New York is holding really large scale congresses, that doesn’t mean that Washington DC can’t hold them as well” he added.
“Sydney and Melbourne, Beijing and Shanghai. All of those are destinations continuing to grow and host large scale events, but that doesn’t necessarily take anything away from the other,” Bachar said.
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