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Dubai: More than a million business visitors - equivalent to roughly 60 per cent of Dubai's population - attended exhibitions and conferences at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC), part of the Dubai World Centre, last year.
In terms of visitor per population ratio, this could be one of the most popular exhibition and convention centres in the world.
The meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (Mice) segment contribute significantly to Dubai's tourism sector, which represents nearly 30 per cent of Dubai's gross domestic product (GDP) — in direct and indirect contributions.
Helal Saeed Khalfan Al Merri, director-general of the DWTC, told Gulf News in an exclusive interview that his organisation is investing Dh18.3 billion ($5 billion) in new projects to expand the emirate's exhibition and convention facilities in the Dubai Trade Centre District and in Dubai Trade Centre Jebel Ali.
His organisation has registered a 20 per cent growth year-on-year over the last four years.
Gulf news: What sort of management setup are you planning in order to manage the two exhibition assets? Is there going to be a management restructuring?
Helal Saeed Khalfan Al Merri: We restructured our management two years ago and we are currently operating two separate developments. We plan to continue this model whereby we have a matrix structure of cross-functional teams that are very client-focussed.
As we have very clear and distinct objectives for each development, we are currently in the process of sourcing top-notch managerial talent, and are committed to developing UAE Nationals through our emiratisation programmes.
The management of both the District and Jebel Ali will work in tandem, but also separately under the DWTC umbrella.
Does Dubai need such facilities? Are these sustainable long term?
Absolutely. Dubai has emerged as the most important exhibition hub in the Middle East and African region, with a leadership position in a sector worth Dh12 billion ($3.37 billion) a year according to UFI (the global association of the exhibitions industry). Many of our largest exhibitions at the 60,000 square metre DICEC — the largest venue of its kind in the greater region — have already reached their maximum capacity.
Current figures indicate that many of them will take up the entire 120,000 square metre capacity of Phase 1 of DBX (Dubai Exhibition Centre) within the first or second year.
Careful analysis
The new developments have been designed after careful analysis of industry demand and projected growth trends, reflecting Dubai's rapid transformation as a global trade power house.
Dubai Trade Centre Jebel Ali — the seven square kilometre integrated commercial destination anchored around our major exhibition complex, DBX (Dubai Exhibition Centre) — will be capable of hosting any of the world's largest and most prestigious events.
With 120,000 square metres of space in 2010 growing to 300,000 square metres in 2015, the venue will provide the infrastructure to cater to the growth of some of the region's most successful trade events.
Are you going to continue the verticals — exhibitions, catering, asset management...? Will some of these be outsourced in future?
Yes, in addition to our exhibition facilities and real estate operations, we will continue to offer a full range of complementary services, including event and exhibitions management, conference organising, catering; event services and facilities management.
All verticals are complementary to the venues' business and support DWTC in achieving its strategic vision to make Dubai the world's leading destination for events.
We have built up a robust portfolio of in-house services to ensure that we deliver an end-to-end business and networking experience to every visitor from every corner of the globe.
You are a regulator or facilitator, while being the operator of exhibitions. Doesn't that put DWTC in direct competition with other exhibition organisers?
DWTC is not a regulator — we are an independently run government-owned company. The licences to run events are issued by the Dubai Economic Department and in some measure by the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).
We are all working towards contributing to the ambitious Dubai Strategic Plan 2015, as laid out by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
The goal is to increase the emirate's GDP by 11 per cent a year over the next eight years with specific focus on expanding tourism by 15 per cent to 15 million annually by 2015.
What about the conflict of interest issue? You own the facilities in which you hold exhibitions in direct competition with your clients.
This has been our operating model for almost 30 years, and if you look at the most successful event locations in the world such as Germany — they follow a similar model.
Our multi-national clients (organisers of events) achieve higher growth and success hosting shows at our venues than anywhere else in the world.
So, no, we don't see this as a conflict of interest, but rather a collaborative effort towards putting Dubai on the global events map.
In future, are you going to separate your regulatory functions from the operational ones?
As I said, we are not regulators. The concept of profile protection does not exist at DWTC. However, like any venue, we continuously evaluate our events on their ability to meet industry expectations and award new events on their performance.
For example, if we see a particular industry that demands more frequent or specialised events or simply better quality than that we currently offer, we seek the best global organiser to make it a reality.
How much are you (DWTC or the Government of Dubai) investing in both the Dubai Trade Centre District and Dubai Trade Centre Jebel Ali put together?
Dubai Trade Centre Jebel Ali and Dubai Trade Centre District form part of a multi-billion strategic development plan which we set in motion to enable Dubai to become a destination of choice for the global events industry.
The first phase of the projects will cost around $5 billion.
How much of this amount is self-financed, bank loans or government funding?
DWTC is owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai (the investment arm of the Government of Dubai) and we are using a range of financing facilities with a mix of debt and equity to fund our expansion.
We have very solid strategic partnerships with local and international financial institutions like Emirates NBD Bank and Morgan Stanley.
Will you need to raise capital to fund the developments in hand?
We have secured the necessary capital so far by leveraging a combination of debt and equity financing in tandem with tie-ups with financial institutions. We will continue to evaluate our needs in the future and will take the necessary steps going forward.
How is the year-on-year growth?
As a group, DWTC has been averaging in excess of 20 per cent year-on-year growth for the last four years. All our business lines have shown growth at a similar rate.
How many people are working for the DWTC?
As a group, we grew by over 25 per cent in 2007, increasing the head count from just over 1,000 employees in 2006 to 1,255 employees in January, this year. As of August, our head count had already reached 1,588.
This rapid expansion has been fuelled by the organic industry growth as well as the need to provide our organisation with able, high-calibre talent.
With the emergence of Adnec and Sharjah Expo, do you see any negative impact on your business?
Both Adnec and Sharjah Expo have been operating for many years. These venues have reinforced the UAE's position as a leading destination for business tourism-related events.
We see ourselves as partners working together towards a single objective and not as direct competitors. Our focus is also broader as we build events around the economic development of the wider region and hence our events cater to an international audience. Further, our multi-billion development plan, which includes Dubai Trade Centre Jebel Ali and Dubai Trade Centre District, will cement our position as a leader in the global events industry.
Exhibitors say your space cost is too high.
We regularly benchmark our space costs both regionally and internationally and we are very competitive on a global scale.
Over the last ten years our average increases have been lower that the average published inflation figures. We work closely with our clients on both our development plans and our service offerings to ensure that Dubai offers the best end-to-end customer service in the world.
How is the future outlook of the exhibition and conference sector in the UAE and the GCC?
While this year's calendar of events will contain mainly familiar names, the robust growth in the sector will be reflected in the months and years ahead with the unveiling of a host of major new venues in the UAE and GCC.
With tourist numbers projected to reach 15 million annually paralleled by proportional growth in business visitors, we are gearing up to accommodate this spurt with our own two unique commercial destinations currently under construction.
We also anticipate a significant share of the global association and conference business, which at present is vastly unexploited.
How much does the exhibition and conference sector contribute to Dubai's economy?
Guided by the ambitious Dubai Strategic Plan 2015, the emirate is looking to grow its GDP by 11 per cent a year over the next eight years, with a focus on growing tourism by 15 per cent. Part of this will be driven by tourism and hospitality, with the convention and exhibition industry playing a major role in driving up business tourism numbers.
We are working towards a target of 1.-1.5 per cent contribution to the UAE economy based on global benchmarks.
How has the DWTC's performance been in 2007 and in the first half of 2008 in terms of exhibitions, exhibitors and visitors?
Last year was officially the busiest year in DWTC's history.
The Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre welcomed over one million visitors across exhibitions, events, conferences and other shows, recording a 25 per cent increase over the previous year.
In total, the venue hosted 97 exhibitions and nine confexes (conferences with significant exhibition components).
Dubai World Trade Centre's Food and Beverages department served over 1.1 million covers across external and internal events in 2007, making it one of the busiest catering teams in the Middle East.
We are already on track to beat these records. The number of new exhibitions booked this year is already in double-digits, and during the first half of this year (January–June), we recorded more than 500,000 visitors (551,056) to the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, compared to 393,665 in same period in 2007.
In terms of exhibitors, we hosted 20,316, an increase of 14 per cent over last year.
As we enter our 30th anniversary year, the only limitation on the growth of our business is the physical limitation of available space.
From 2010 onwards, the new facilities that will come online will enable even more dynamic growth for the future.
Finally, parking remains a major issue. Any thoughts?
We are working closely with authorities like the RTA and Dubai Traffic Police and continue to listen to the needs of our stakeholders, to ensure that we do everything we can to minimise traffic bottlenecks, provide ample parking and ease access to our venues, especially during major exhibitions.
We are also in continuous dialogue with Dubai's taxi companies, to ensure sufficient availability of taxis during busy periods.
In terms of our new developments, Dubai Trade Centre Jebel Ali will have a comprehensive transportation infrastructure in compliance with Dubai Municipality regulations and accommodate 15,000 parking spaces.
The District will offer more than 450,000 square metres of car parking, creating 8,000 spaces on four underground levels across the six office buildings alone in Phase 1.
Both the developments will also be seamlessly networked into the city's major road and rail systems.
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