As a result of the Abu Dhabi’s successful COVID-19 response, the destination reopened borders to international visitors in December, was able to relaunch a couple of significant live business events earlier this year, including the flagship International Defence Exhibition, and has won over 12 bids for events in Abu Dhabi.

We caught up with Mubarak Al Shamisi, Director at Abu Dhabi Convention and Exhibition Bureau (ADCEB) to find out how a focus on safety, collaboration, and communication has put the destination in a strong position to bounce back as a leading destination for meetings, events and incentives…

Abu Dhabi has been recognised for its efforts in containing the spread of COVID-19. What’s the situation there now with regard to Covid and the vaccination rollout?

The last few months have been a turning point for Abu Dhabi, with significant developments across multiple areas. I believe we are in a much better place today thanks to the outstanding government response to the pandemic, as well as the relentless efforts and cooperation between the public and private sector. 

As a result of the impeccable intervention and the government’s forward-looking mindset, Abu Dhabi was able to develop a system with reliable mechanism, helping to contain the spread of COVID-19 and minimise the impact of the pandemic across multiple areas.

Today, the UAE has passed a vaccine milestone, covering more than 50% of the population and protecting the community against the pandemic that has had a significant global impact.

Can you tell us more about the safety protocols you have put in place across tourism and hospitality venues and how is this being monitored?

The safety initiatives launched by DCT Abu Dhabi have paved the way for the enlivenment of the tourism sector. The Go Safe certification programme has especially helped revive the tourism industry as a result of the uplift in consumers’ confidence in the level of safety implemented across tourism and hospitality establishments in Abu Dhabi.

The first step of the programme is guided self-assessments which relevant destinations undergo as per guidelines and checklists provided by DCT Abu Dhabi, encouraging them to take responsibility of the cleanliness of their own facilities in order to carry out similar operations independently in the future.

 The self-assessments are then verified through thorough site-inspections conducted by dedicated teams to ensure the compliance of destinations to the highest standard of cleanliness. Those who meet the requirements are awarded the Go Safe Certificate, which signals to consumers their readiness to receive visitors and maintain hygiene throughout.

Today, 95% of our hotels are certified as well as popular tourism attractions, museums and shopping centres. And we continue to work closely with our partners and stakeholders towards achieving our goal of certifying the entire capital in the near future.

What protocols have you put in place specifically for MICE?

As a result of the emirate’s successful COVID-19 response, Abu Dhabi was able to relaunch a couple of significant events earlier this year with on-ground participation, including the flagship bi-annual event, the International Defence Exhibition (IDEX 2021).

The event was immaculately delivered with innovative safety measures conducted throughout the period, including the creation of a detailed safety and travel protocol video ahead of the event to familiarise attendees with the on-ground setup, testing onsite staff every 48 hours for added precaution, and the installation of four testing centres on-site to facilitate faster testing for exhibitors and visitors.

These are just some of the elements implemented as part of a larger framework, specifically designed to gradually and cautiously reintroduce business events to the capital of the UAE again. The framework delves into the following key areas with detailed steps and regulations under each element: ensuring personnel and personal safety; enabling physical distancing; increasing health and safety measures (including testing facilities); implementing crowd control; encouraging and enforcing measures.

When do you expect to start welcoming international visitors?

On 24 December last year, Abu Dhabi officially reopened its borders to international visitors. Travellers from across the globe will be allowed entry to the capital under a set of conditions. Visitors travelling from the ‘green’ list of countries are exempted from the quarantine requirement, after presenting a valid negative COVID-19 PCR test received within 96 hours prior to their scheduled departure, in addition to a second test conducted at Abu Dhabi airport upon arrival. The green list is determined in collaboration with Abu Dhabi’s health authority and is regularly updated based on COVID-19 developments.

In summary, Abu Dhabi is in a state of readiness to welcome tourists again. There is an overwhelming sense of optimism across the community towards the upcoming period, and we are confident that our safety initiatives, precautionary measures and procedures as well as our innovative solutions will safeguard both residents and visitors and help speed up the recovery and resumption of business events amongst other activities across the emirate.

When do you expect business events to resume?

As previously highlighted, Abu Dhabi has already started the journey towards cautiously bringing back business events to the capital. The success of IDEX demonstrated our ability to manage the delivery of large scale, hybrid events, while also safeguarding on-ground personnel and attendees from safety risks.

Of course, the global travel destination plays a part in the return of the business events sector to normal. Many countries still have outbound travel restrictions, and similarly, travellers from certain destinations are still required to undergo a quarantine period of 10 days before being allowed to roam Abu Dhabi. Despite that, we’ve achieved a milestone in bringing back one of the biggest events to the emirate.

Safety will always be our top priority, with much of these safety measures here to stay even after the pandemic after proving their effectiveness. However, we certainly look forward to the improvement of global circumstances so we can see more of these events happening, and more visitors flying into our destination.

How are you collaborating with local partners to get events business up and running safely?

Our partnerships are extremely valuable, and it goes without saying that our success is largely due to these very alliances. If I had to title 2020, I would call it the ‘Year of Partnerships’. The exemplary approach of cross-collaboration between both the private and public sector, in alignment with government authorities was the key factor of our success in overcoming the challenges presented by the pandemic. Evidently, Abu Dhabi was ranked first in a major global survey for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The same applies for our business events sector. Working alongside our partners such as Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), the largest exhibition centre in the Middle East, and Etihad Airways, our local airline operator, we established a framework of steps and measures that will aid us in achieving our collective goal of revitalising the travel and business events sector in Abu Dhabi. The fruits of our labour came into sight after the successful delivery of the first major hybrid event, that is IDEX.   

Do you think vaccination passports or on-site testing will be important to reassure clients and delegates to get back to live events?

The global industry is currently assessing the concept of introducing vaccination passports as means to re-launch the business events sector sooner, in a safe manner. From our end, we continue to implement a series of safety measures including the availability of on-site testing facilities to minimise risks and ensure we safeguard our community and visitors.

To date, this approach has proved to be effective. However, considering the volatile nature of the pandemic, revisiting, and assessing the results of our approach and measures on an ongoing basis is crucial to ensure everyone’s safety.

Are you getting many enquiries for business events for this year? 

Like other sectors, there is a keenness globally for the business events sector to return like it once was. Over the past few months, we have sensed more readiness to bring back events of various sorts. In fact, we have won over 12 bids for events in Abu Dhabi, some of which will be launched later this year.

With the global vaccination campaign roll-out ongoing, we are optimistic about the development of the business events sector and look forward to bringing more events to our emirate in the coming period.

When do you expect larger international events to resume?

IDEX, a flagship event in our destination is one of the largest events hosted here. Its delivery earlier this year brings hope for more events of this size to recommence in the near future. The event featured 62,445 attendees at the venue across five days, including 900 exhibitors from 59 countries, and 35 international pavilions who participated in both IDEX and NAVDEX 2021. Moreover, we had five countries participate in the exhibitions for the first time this year, including Israel, North Macedonia, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Azerbaijan.

Safety will always remain a priority, and in order for these events to resume sooner, destinations globally are required to develop reliable safety frameworks that clearly outline the measures and regulations to be put in place to safeguard attendees and on-ground personnel.

The business events sector normally sees millions of professionals flying in from all over the world on an annual basis to attend these events. Therefore, travel restrictions play a key role in the return of international events. Until these restrictions ease, the business events sector will naturally require more time to bounce back to normal.

How are you communicating the message that Abu Dhabi is a safe destination to host events? And how have you had to adapt the way you communicate with planners?

Abu Dhabi has prioritised safety all along. Evidently, the destination was titled as the safest city in the world for five years in a row by Numbeo. Our strides to safeguard the community during the pandemic were also recognised globally, where we ranked the first globally for our Covid-19 response.

Our main aim is to uplift the confidence of our consumers, partners and stakeholders, and we tried to achieve that by demonstrating our commitment through the initiatives we developed such as Go Safe, as well as the partnerships we created to develop solutions that protect the community and visitors while giving them the opportunity to commence their livelihood and activities as they normally would.

What trends do you expect to see in the meetings and events market over the next year?

MICE events will behave differently to the past. Whilst recovery will differ country by country, we can expect common themes.

There will be a higher focus on smaller domestic events with elevated hygiene and social distancing demands and a higher level of virtual or hybrid events. Digitisation and flexibility of venues will be highly important. As Covid-19 significantly accelerated digital trends, venues will be expected to offer the option for virtual and hybrid events with enhanced technology infrastructure and flexible rooms.

In this transition phase, some events may go fully virtual while others go hybrid.

Do you have a roadmap in place to ensure Abu Dhabi remains a key player in the global MICE market post-pandemic? 

Despite the setbacks presented by the pandemic, our team continues to work relentlessly in planning towards upcoming projects, increasing awareness about Abu Dhabi as an ideal destination for business tourism, and investing in initiatives created to engage our stakeholders with our destination.

By leveraging the power of data analytics, and digital transformation, we were able to reach a wider audience group and ensure that our destination remains recognised amongst MICE professionals, event planners and organisers globally.

We have also established stronger partnerships and relations with new local partners, government entities and authorities to discuss future bidding opportunities to ensure that our re-opening plans and guidelines are aligned with the wider strategy for the destination.

As such, we are witnessing an incredible amount of support from the government to help enliven the sector as a whole. Whether it is through stimulus funds or regulations, their support has definitely made it easier for us to plan towards the recommencement of business events and MICE activities.

Our goal for the coming year is to further expand our scope and strengthen our propositions as an emerging global MICE destination.

Moreover, Abu Dhabi is working towards its long-term goals as part of the Economic Vision 2030 set and approved by the government in an aim to diversify its economic portfolio and reduce dependence on the oil sector for economic growth. So far, the emirate has successfully expanded its offerings, bringing plenty more to experience in the capital, including world-class events like the UFC Fight Island, and new developments such as The Hilton Yas Island. These plans and developments have helped us raise our profile in the tourism industry globally, enable our business environment further and put us in a better place to meet the changing trends and succeed.