Business & Money | Sunday 1 March, 2015 1:14 pm |

The 3rd edition of MICE Arabia Congress, which was held on February 22-23, 2015 at the Ritz-Carlton Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), was concluded with success as it welcomed more than 300 attendees from some of the leading organisations in the Middle East involved in the meetings, business and luxury travel industry along with key travel and hospitality suppliers from all over the world. The congress saw buyers representing all the 6 GCC states - UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain while the suppliers represented over 50 destinations worldwide.

Sidh N C, Director – Projects, QnA International, organiser of the two-day exclusive by-invitation-only event, said this year’s MICE Arabia Congress offered an ideal environment for serious business negotiations, hosting a total of 1,800 pre-arranged and on-site meetings between buyers and suppliers.

“A number of deals were closed onsite, while the pre-scheduled meetings also generated plenty of new business leads for the travel & hospitality suppliers from companies in the GCC. For example, one of the congress’ GCC-based corporate buyers, who will host their own conference in Spain in July with 200 expected participants, has commissioned a destination management company (DMC) onsite. Another buyer signed a USD 25,000 contract with a Sri Lankan-based hotel,” confirmed Sidh N C.

The congress highlights the vast opportunities for outbound and regional business and luxury travel from the Middle East, particularly the Gulf countries, as well as the growing potential of the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) sector.

“Our objective has always been to bring suppliers from all over the world to meet C-level executives from the region, who can make decisions on all aspects related to procurement in the MICE, business and luxury travel activities. We have been successful in surpassing participants’ expectations over the past three years and we will continue to do the same in the coming congresses,” added Sidh N C.

Majority of this year’s attendees have confirmed their participation in the 4th MICE Arabia Congress, which will be held in Dubai in March 2016.