Investment in people crucial

The Middle East's meetings industry needs to invest in its workforce if this sector is to really take off, according to meetings professionals.

"It's easy for the meetings industry to get caught up in being all about the new venues and facilities, but there is something more going on here," said Bruce Macmillan, president and CEO of Meeting Professionals International (MPI).

"There is a war for talent with 500,000 people required to support this industry over the next five years.

"We have the venues, clearly. Now it's time to grow the experts to unleash the potential in these venues."

He was speaking at a seminar entitled 'Why does the Gulf need the meetings profession?' at GIBTM, which took place from April 8-10 at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC).

The event followed on from MPI's conference in Dubai, which attracted 177 members from 19 countries, where the topic of discussion was "very much about the future of this region and its prospects".

"There is a great interest in diversifying the economy, whether it's leisure or business tourism. It's become a global meeting place for many different industries," he said.

"That's why having a rich and professional meetings industry is vital to the success of this region."

He noted that a meetings industry was "an incredibly important part" of the region's business development in that major corporations now dedicated 27% of their marketing budget to meetings and events.

Dayne Lim Kok Chun, product development division director for the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) supported Macmillan's comments and said there was too much focus on destination development because "it's easy to sell the story, whether it's the Palm Jumeirah or Emirates Palace".

"Infrastructure sells the story, but what will sustain the destination is the delivery," he stressed.

He said one of the biggest challenges for Abu Dhabi was that with owners and investors in infrastructure development expecting a fast rate of return on investment, it meant most companies focused on business and sales development and neglected investment in people.

"[As a result of this] these developments do not have a strong foundation."

"The ability of companies to retain and attract staff for sustainable growth is essential. Companies are not paying enough attention to staff development," he concluded.