The most sought-after destination pairing is the Sultanate of Oman, renowned for its natural beauty, adventure tourism and cultural heritage, combined with Dubai, famed for its metropolitan dynamism, where shopping, sport, gastronomy and the world’s tallest building are all part of the lure.
Incentive group trips combining two Gulf destinations are proving increasingly popular with planners and participants eager to experience the region’s diverse tourism hotspots.
The most sought-after destination pairing is the Sultanate of Oman, renowned for its natural beauty, adventure tourism and cultural heritage, combined with Dubai, famed for its metropolitan dynamism, where shopping, sport, gastronomy and the world’s tallest building are all part of the lure.
Opportunities for Gulf destinations to leverage this twin-centre trend will be presented at the 2014 Gulf Incentives, Business, Travel and Meetings (GIBTM) exhibition, which returns to Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) from 24-26 March 2014.
“As the region’s leading platform for the inbound and outbound MICE and Business Travel sectors, GIBTM will highlight this growing trend to double-up destinations, while focusing on other hot topics, trends and buyer behaviours that are driving industry development,” explains GIBTM Exhibition Manager Lois Hall.
“With improved corporate performances, incentives are firmly back on the agenda and the feedback from our business partners has revealed that, incentive organisers are keen to get extra bang from their buck by visiting more than one destination in one trip. Obviously the benefit for the destinations, ground handlers and hotels is that the average spend per capita on incentive trips, is one of the highest yielding segments in the industry,” she added.
“Oman is top of the agenda due to the diversity of activities on offer across the Sultanate, revered for its natural splendor, paired, in complete contrast, with the Gulf’s most modern metropolis, Dubai, for an immersive urban experience.”
Anwar Abu Monassar, director of operations at inbound MICE specialist, The Vision Destination Management, which has offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Muscat, has witnessed the developing twin-centre trend.
“Oman is the top pick due to the myriad of attractions it offers, the Old Muttrah Souq in Muscat, one of the oldest marketplaces in the Arab world; wadi bashing in the spectacular Hajjar Mountains, at 9,800 feet at its peak, Jebel Akhdar is one of the highest mountains on the Arabian peninsula; dune bashing in Wahiba Sands, nearly 5,000 square miles of natural desert; visiting historic forts in Nizwa or heading to Salalah for unspoiled beaches and seasonal green meadows and waterfalls.
“Dubai is the preferred twin – a complete antithesis with its modern mega malls and souks, iconic buildings such as Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab and Atlantis, pop concerts, the shopping festival and summer surprises, world championship rugby, golf and tennis, a wide range of sporting activities from sky-diving to indoor skiing and of course Dubai’s world-class hotels and restaurants, as well as its vibrant night life,” added Monassar.
While Dubai has rapidly expanded its travel and tourism offering, Oman has preferred to take a more considered approach. However it has now identified the tourism industry as a key pillar of economic diversification and is investing heavily to promote its travel and tourism sector.
Infrastructure developments worth US$112 billion are planned for the Sultanate according to recent data, half of which ($56 billion) are due for completion by 2017 and the remainder by 2022.
Capital investment in the transport infrastructure includes the $15 billion national rail programme and Muscat and Salalah airport expansion projects valued at $5.2 billion.
Oman is also transforming Port Sultan Qaboos into a cruise ship hub, funding hotel developments in regional locations such as Duqm, Musandam and Jebel Al Akhdar as well as building the new Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre (OCEC) which will open in 2016.
Oman and Dubai, which have participated in the show since inception, are just two of the many Gulf destinations on the hit list of the some 300 Hosted Buyers attending this year, all of whom have sizeable business to place in the region.
Buyers selected to take part in the highly sought-after hosted buyer programme span corporate, association and governmental organisations and hail from key source markets such as Europe, including Russia; the Middle East; Asia Pacific and the US and Canada.
These confirmed influential decision-makers represent big names including Kuoni Events, TE Connectivity, UHY International, Medicongress, Mary Kay, HelmsBriscoe, FEI Company, China International Medicine Exchange Association International Service Center, Contendam and Portigon Financial Services.
Photo caption: The Old Muttrah Souq in Muscat, one of the oldest marketplaces in the Arab world.
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