International meetings business into the Gulf region will see an increase this year due to increased hotel stock and cheaper room rates, exhibition director of the Gulf Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition (GIBTM) Graeme Barnett predicted.
Barnett said that while meeting planners may have been put off bringing groups to the region in the past due to “the perception that it is an expensive destination,” that was now changing.
“The global economic downturn has had a massive impact on the perception of the region as a whole,” said Barnett.
"What’s happening now is a lowering of prices with an increase in the stock of hotels so there’s more availability at cheaper rates. Abu Dhabi for example had 2,600 rooms come on line in the destination overnight for the Formula 1 last year which was a much needed increase. I certainly think it will be interesting to see if international planners say the region has become more affordable out of the slowdown.”
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Barnett was speaking ahead of the GIBTM exhibition in Abu Dhabi at the end of March where 280 international meetings buyers would be attending.
Ali Abu Monassar, chairman of Dubai-based DMC The Vision agreed saying that meetings business to the region is poised to “boom” this year. “Prices have gone down and [the destination] has become more affordable. Before we did not have space to accommodate meetings, but today we have more options, more facilities, more hotels and we have more accessibility through the budget. So that segment which was undeveloped in the past is today coming in strongly.”
Barnett added that venues and hotels in the region were today working closely with the meetings industry to bring in more groups. “Because the FIT market is not so strong venues are now being more flexible. But the destination is still an emerging one to win large scale meetings business.”
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