Abu Dhabi’s ranking for global meetings on the rise
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Abu Dhabi has been ranked among the top 100 busiest global meetings destinations in the International Congress and Convention Association’s (ICCA) 2012 global city rankings for the first time.
The Capital jumped from the 234th place with eight meetings in 2011, to hosting 22 association meetings last year. Abu Dhabi is now listed alongside other major meetings cities including: Atlanta, Georgia; Brasilia and Perth, Australia; and higher than established global hubs such as Las Vegas and Cologne in Germany.
Abu Dhabi is one of only two Arabian Gulf cities to make it to the Top 100 rankings – the other is Dubai which made it to 60th place with 38 meetings.
In 2012 the total number of events hosted at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) alone grew to 360 from 232 the previous year, a 55% increase. In addition, 17 conferences were held that attracted almost 25,000 participants and 111 special events and meetings.
Business tourism has been identified as a key economic diversification driver in Abu Dhabi. Research commissioned by TCA Abu Dhabi and ADNEC suggests the economic impact from business events in the emirate is expected to increase by approximately 7% per annum on average up until 2020 based on historic performance.