Dubai's business events stakeholders committee held its first meeting Sept. 14.
To reinforce its commitment to the meetings
industry and its development as a knowledge hub, Dubai Tourism has established a business
events stakeholders committee. The timing coincides with the resumption of local
business events this week in Dubai; international business events are set to restart October 1.
The committee includes senior
officials from airlines, venues, hotels, destination management companies and
professional congress organizers. Among the companies represented are Emirates,
Dubai World Trade Centre, Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts, Alpha Destination
Management, MCI Middle East and Expo 2020 Dubai.
During the group's first meeting on Sept. 14, participants discussed opportunities and challenges the
destination will face as it reactivates meetings, conventions and trade shows.
His Excellency Helal Saeed
Almarri, director general of Dubai Tourism, hosted the first gathering. "Dubai has steadily reopened key economic sectors, building on the support that
was provided throughout the pandemic and the measures put in place to minimize
its impact," he told the group. "In line with this, we have been working closely with industry
stakeholders to ensure a framework is in place to resume business events that
can be best in class while at the same time prioritizing the health and safety
of all participants.
"Business events play a critical role
in driving economic development and knowledge growth in Dubai," he continued, "and with the
city’s status as the Middle East’s undisputed hub for conferences, exhibitions
and meetings, the resumption of activity here will have an impact on the wider
region."
Among the first international events Dubai will host this fall are The Airport Show (Oct. 26-28), Annual Radiology Meeting in UAE (Nov. 1-3) and Cityscape’s 2020 Real Estate Summit (Nov. 16-17).