ArabianBusiness.com - Middle East Business News
Friday, 05 December 2008 18:59 UAE time

YOUR DIRECTORY /

Print this page Print this page | Email this to a friend Email this to a friend | Discuss this article (0 Comments) |

Meetings planners turn to North Africa

by ArabianBusiness.com staff writer  on Friday, 04 April 2008
BCD TRAVEL: meeting planners are increasingly turning to Egyptian and Moroccan destinations.

Competative prices and high quality venues offer alternative to expensive Gulf countries.

North Africa is becoming an increasingly popular destination for Middle East meetings planners, according to travel management firm BCD Travel.

"There is now a tendency to move out of the region to Egyptian and Moroccan destinations," said Paul Tracy, vice president, growth and emerging markets, BCD Travel.

Story continues below
advertisement

"Compared with Dubai, the hotel pricing is more aggressive and the quality is there.

The company has partners throughout the Gulf, Egypt and Jordan, putting BCD in a strong position to observe meetings industry trends across the region, he added.

Tracy said the Middle East was becoming a "critical" market for BCD Travel.

"A lot of attention has been focused in the last year on the so called BRIC markets (Brazil, Russia, India and China) but when you look at the GDP, growth and exports of the Gulf as a whole it is larger than all of these countries except for China," he said.

BCD is now present across eight countries in the region; Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and the company plans to expand into Yemen to in the near future, Tracy added.

All of BCD's regional offices offer destination management and inbound services, while the Oman and Egypt offices have professional congress organiser (PCO) divisions; the Qatar and Egypt offices manage and organise exhibitions and the Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain offices operate incentives programmes for their clients.

BCD recently appointed a strategic development manager - Rehan Ali - to oversee the growth of the region from the company's hub in Dubai.

Print Print | Email Email | Discuss this article |


READERS' COMMENTS



Click here to post a comment


Add your Comment
All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *
(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Security Code * Code


Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.


MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM

From  Current Issue

RELATED LINKS

  1. BCD Travel»

 EMAIL ALERTS

  1. BCD Travel

  2. Travel & Hospitality



EMIRATES ID DOWNLOAD

READER COMMENTS

  1. Business class travel falls in MENA region - survey 5
    05 Dec ' 08 at 13:10
    There is no advantage now in having an Emirates silver or gold card-the new lounge at T3 was the only real perk of travelling with...  More »
  2. Fine alert for Emiritisation-shy firms 2
    05 Dec ' 08 at 16:17
    Yes! I personally know about 300 willing to work for same Salaries as 'Expats'. But the trend has been - that we are offered jobs at...  More »
  3. Corporate sales look to soften: Marriott 1
    05 Dec ' 08 at 17:01
    I am a regular business traveller in the GCC and as everyone will agree most of the 5 star hotels here I see lack customer service...  More »
Read all user comments >

BUSINESS FEATURES

Winter wonderlands

With the end of the year approaching, First Class takes a look at the best destinations for a Merry Christmas.

Land of promise

With astonishing natural beauty and a growing economy, Jordan is a haven for tourists and migrants alike.

Top of the world

Kathmandu is increasingly popular with Middle East travellers, thanks to airlines establishing routes to the city.

BUSINESS INTERVIEWS

An address with a difference

Hotelier Middle East checks out the hotly anticipated new hotel on the block, The Address, Down Town Burj Dubai.

Culinary confessions

Executive Chef Marcus Gregs on how linguistic abilities can lead to humorous misunderstandings.

Green and lean

Hyatt Hotels' Birgitta Witts on how putting eco-friendly initiatives in place can make good business sense.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM