São Paulo – More than a city in which to hold major business fairs, Dubai is also a strategic location for hosting corporate events and incentive travels. This was the message that Dubai Business Events (DBE), the conventions office of the emirate’s government, set out to convey at a seminar this Tuesday evening (7th) in São Paulo. The office is part of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).
“We do not focus solely on fairs, we focus on corporate meetings, congresses and incentive travel. Therefore, with this roadshow, we want to make sure that companies, especially those based in Brazil, Colombia and Argentina, will use Dubai as a destination for their corporate meetings or send groups there on incentive trips,” said Karina Lance, the DBE’s senior manager for Sales and Convention Services. Besides São Paulo, similar seminars will be delivered in Bogota and Buenos Aires.
The roadshow targeted the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions segment (known as Mice). Lance gave a presentation on Dubai’s infrastructure and the advantages DBE can offer to enterprises in holding their events in the emirate. Free assistance is provided to the companies, ranging from help with drafting event and trip proposal documents to organizing tours and arranging for financial support, depending on the size of the group at hand.
“Dubai has one of the best infrastructures when it comes to hosting events. The first thing that comes to mind in organizing an event [in Dubai] is that lots of people will attend because of our location. We are very strategically placed. We can welcome people from all over the world, the Middle East, Asia, Europe or America, because direct flights are available. This is the main reason companies should choose Dubai, because they can reach out to various markets,” said Lance.
The people attending the event were also able to speak with six tour service providers from Dubai, including hotels and tourism companies. The companies in the roadshow were JW Marriott, Dubai Marine, Desert Gate, Abjar Hotels Clubs Resorts, The Adress Hotel + Resorts and Alpha Tours.
Lance believes the distance between Latin American countries and the United Arab Emirates is not necessarily a barrier for local companies to have their events in Dubai. The executive stresses that the emirate is a gateway for enterprises looking to tap into the region’s markets.
“The main advantage for a Latin American company in holding an event in Dubai is to break into the [regional] market, because the Middle East, North Africa, East Africa, the Asian Subcontinent, India, these are all growing markets, and if a Latin American company is looking to work on those markets, Dubai is the easiest way in,” she said.
The DBE manager also said that although Dubai is often associated with luxury and high costs, the emirate does not levy taxes or fees on events. “Whenever you organize an event in Dubai, you pay no additional fees at hotels or restaurants, or on any goods you may import, and these are important factors to consider,” she said.
Lance also pointed out the quality of the emirate’s tourism services and the difference in pricing from other localities. “If you stay in a five-star hotel in Dubai, you get service you would never get in Europe for less than twice the price. This is something we want people to understand: the level of service you get in Dubai would cost twice as much in Europe or the United States,” she compared.
According to Lance, the bulk of events hosted from Latin American corporations are incentive trips. This year, for instance, the emirate will welcome a group of 1,500 Petrobras personnel in such a trip. Inbound groups from Latin America range from 50 to 350 people, on average.
The executive estimates that 20% to 30% of tourists go to Dubai on incentive trips or to attend corporate events. The largest group ever to go on a single incentive trip to Dubai hailed from China. In April of last year, the Chinese branch of personal care company Nu Skin sent 14,500 people on a trip to the emirate.
Hotels and tours
Karim Douay, the Business Development director for The Address Hotel + Resorts, said his conglomerate currently owns nine hotels, being four The Address units, one Armani, one Palace, two Manzil and one Vida.
“Last year, The Address Marina was voted Best Conference and Mice Events Hotel. We offer a wide variety of facilities and the hotel is near the world’s largest mall, the world’s largest building,” Douay said. According to the executive, his chain range has three-, four- and five-star hotels.
Natasha Soares, the travel director for tourism company Desert Gate, said one of her flagship attractions is desert tours.
“We will pick up the guest at the hotel at 3 pm, take them out to the desert in a four-wheel drive vehicle, take a tour of the dunes, they will watch the sunset, there is a falcon show and then they are taken to a camp to watch a dance performance, have barbecue for dinner and they can smoke a shisha, ride a camel, and then we will take then back to the hotel at 9:30 pm,” she explained.
The DBE roadshow will travel to two other Brazilian cities this week: Porto Alegre on Wednesday (8th) and Rio de Janeiro on Thursday (9th).
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
