Australian incentive professionals impressed with DWTC facilities

A team comprising some of the best corporate incentive travel professionals from Western Australia visited the Dubai World Trade Centre  DWTC) and were given an extensive tour of its facilities and the state-of-the-art Dubai International Convention Centre (DICC).

"Incentive travel is a vital sector that brings in high-yield visitors to Dubai and we are optimistic from the comments received that the DICC will become a favoured venue and Dubai the preferred destination for Western Australian incentive travel organisers," said DWTC Director General, Mubarak bin Fahad.

 He noted that the incentive travel market forms a crucial segment of business travel that is vital to the development of the emirate's incentive travel industry. "The DICC will provide a much-needed fillip to Dubai's status as a destination for the meetings, incentives, conference and exhibition (MICE) business in the emirate," Mr. bin Fahad observed.

The DICC will be large enough to accommodate events with up to 12,000 delegates and its main multipurpose hall will have the capacity to hold up to 4,500 people when set as an auditorium.

"The DICC is on the brink of creating a global impact on the MICE circuit by playing host to the 2003 Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September 2003," said DWTC Assistant Manager Operations, Manal Shaheen who escorted the group on a tour of the DICC.

"This trip by the Western Australian team will definitely provide momentum to Dubai's emergence as a premier MICE destination across Australia," added Ms. Shaheen.

The flexibility of the new multipurpose hall, one of the key highlights of this facility, created a major impact on the visiting group. They were given a demonstration of the adjustable walls and retractable seating that can be configured in an endless array to accommodate any event - social or cultural to world-class sporting championship games or tournaments such as tennis or basketball. "The hall is also designed to host a range of entertainment options including specialised concerts, from jazz and classical to pop," Ms. Shaheen remarked.

Australia is a major player in the incentive outbound travel market, and the visit of the team from Western Australia reflects the importance they attach  to Dubai and the DWTC in particular in filling that niche. This is significant as the incentive tourism industry is looking at adding new destinations to their calendar with organisers rapidly tiring of the old tried and trusted venues.