MEETING AND EVENT Planners’ GUIDE 2013 DUBAI MEETING AND EVENT Planners’ GUIDE 2013 CONTENTS 4 DUBAI MEETING AND EVENT Planners’ GUIDE INTRODUCTION 5 DUBAI: THE World’s desTINATION OF CHOICE FOR CONGRESSES AND MEETINGS HELAL AL MARRI DIRECTOR GENERAL Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Government of Dubai We invite you to explore Dubai! Our emirate has two million Join the millions of people who residents from 180 different visit our emirate from all around nationalities. We are perfectly the world every year. Tourists and situated midway between the Far businesspeople alike are attracted East and Europe, and one third of by the different aspects of the city’s the world’s population lives within offerings: our strategic location a four-hour flight. We are the same as the gateway between East and distance from London as from West, our unique cultural heritage, Beijing, and easily accessible from modern infrastructure, wide- all of the major economic centres in ranging leisure activities, world- Asia, Africa, Europe and Russia. renowned attractions and multitude of business events – all working As such, we take pride in being together to position the city as a globally recognised as a centre of destination of choice. commerce and trade with world- class facilities, an impeccable Here in Dubai we have everything reputation for high-quality service, you need to successfully host and ever-enhancing air connectivity events of any size throughout boasting over 160 airlines to 220 DUBAI IS the year. We have invested in destinations; as well as for providing making our city a world-class strong value for money. With over GLOBALLY destination for meetings, incentives, 75,000 hotel rooms and furnished RECOGNISED conferences and exhibitions, and the apartments, Dubai remains a AS A CENTRE OF sector has long been a key pillar of dynamic destination where it is easy Dubai’s growth. Our annual events to conduct business. COMMERCE AND attract visitors from the four TRADE WITH corners of the world across a wide As you explore our facilities, it variety of industries, each taking will take no time at all for you WORLD-CLASS advantage of our ever-expanding to understand why Dubai is the FACILITIES AND infrastructure in transportation, destination of choice for so many AN IMPECCABLE logistics and hospitality, and best- congresses and other events from in-class standards of service. We around the world. REPUTATION FOR invite you and your delegates to HIGH QUALITY experience this first-hand. Welcome to Dubai! SERVICE. 6 DUBAI MEETING AND EVENT Planners’ GUIDE INTRODUCTION 7 YOUR DUBAI CONVENTION AND EVENTS BUREAU HAMAD M. BIN MEJREN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Business Tourism Welcome to Dubai! On behalf of infrastructure and shopping – and The emirate itself has been built the Department of Tourism and want to come back as a tourist. It on realising great ambition and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) is for this reason we at the DCEB the Dubai Convention and Events and the Dubai Convention and have worked so hard to make Dubai Bureau is no different. We have Events Bureau (DCEB), it gives me the destination for international gathered international expertise of extraordinary pleasure to welcome congresses with professionalism. the very highest quality to ensure you here. You can see everything that the most complete service that Dubai now offers to the The International Convention can be provided. Every year the business visitor and tourist alike. and Congress Association (ICCA) calendar of events grows more ranked Dubai as first in the Middle diverse and more prestigious. From We have carefully prepared our East and as one of the major bidding assistance to convention Meeting and Event Planners’ international meeting destinations planning, from attendance building Guide to provide you with all the globally, with Dubai surfacing as to onsite event servicing, the Dubai necessary information you need to a top contender amongst well- Convention and Events Bureau’s make sure your event is a success. established meeting destinations. destination experts can assist in We provide information about facilitating all aspects of any kind accommodation in Dubai, different In 2013 the emirate will be playing of event. We are able to provide venues, entertainment, DMCs and host to countless international up-to-date and impartial advice PCOs, as well as sports information. meetings – the Interdisciplinary about one of the world’s leading World Congress on Low Back and convention and event destinations. The growth of Dubai as a Pelvic Pain; SIB OS, the world’s And we are proud to say we embody destination has not happened by premier financial services event; international best practice in every accident. The country’s leadership to name just a few. Further major aspect of our services and activities. WE ARE ABLE has continually underlined the international events are also set We hope you’ll see for yourself! importance of the development to take place in Dubai in 2014, TO PROVIDE of the Meetings, Incentives, including the Congress of the Asian We welcome you to Dubai, and UP-TO-DATE Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) Pacific Dental Federation (APDF), if there is anything we can do to industry in the Emirates, recognising the Scientific Conference of Asian make your visit even better, don’t AND IMPARTIAL that congress development is key Pacific Endodontic Confederation hesitate to ask. ADVICE ABOUT to tourism success. Businesspeople (APEC), and the International ONE OF THE who come here and have a Symposium on Electronic Art. productive and professional meeting This is not counting the staggering World’s leading cannot help but see the hotels, number of international sporting CONVENTION the world-class golf courses, events also now held in the emirate. DESTINATIONS. the resorts, beaches, markets, WHY DUBAI 10 DUBAI MEETING AND EVENT Planners’ GUIDE WHY DUBAI 11 DUBAI IN NUMBERS 175+ 75,000+ NATIONALITIES HOTEL ROOMS LIVING, WORKING AND PLAYING IN DUBAI M2 OF 90,000 CONFERENCE SPACE UNDER ONE ROOF OVER 50 MILLION PASSENGERS ANNUALLY THROUGH DUBAI 24,000 INTERNATIONAL HOTEL AIRPORT ROOMS ALONG THE DUBAI METRO 35,000 LINES ASSOCIATION DELEGATES IN 2012 12 DUBAI MEETING AND EVENT Planners’ GUIDE WHY DUBAI 13 INTRODUCTION DUBAI, THe ‘MercHant’s CITY,’ HAS TRANSfoRMED ITSELF FROM A HUMBLE FISHING VILLAGE INTO A GLOBAL HUB foR TRADING, MANUFACTURING AND TOURISM. LOCATED AT THE CROSSROADS BETWEEN EAST AND WEST, IT OFFERS THE BEST OF BOTH woRLDS: A TAX-FREE LIBERAL HAVEN foR BUSINESS AND A LUXURIOUS HOLIDAY DESTINATION foR PLEASURE- SEEKERS. WITH RECORD-BREAKING SKYSCRAPERS, SHOPPING MALLS AND MARVELLOUS HOTELS CRADLED BY PRISTINE BEACHES AND DESERT DUNES, DUBAI IS LIKE NO OTHER CITY ON EARTH. WELCOME TO EXOTIC ARABIA WITH A 21ST CENTURY TWIST. Centuries before the city became Dubai’s global success today is also and women alike. This cosmopolitan an international destination, it was a product of its global outlook. It spirit has attracted some of the inhabited by nomadic tribes that has an open, multi-cultural society world’s biggest events and given left little trace of their existence. that is bilingual in Arabic and rise to international sporting Then, in the 18th century, members English, and extremely tolerant of tournaments, like the Dubai Desert of the Bani Yas tribe, who made different religious beliefs. So even Classic and the Dubai World Cup. a living trading as well as fishing, though the local populace preserves But despite an outward mentality, settled in Dubai. Their natural Dubai’s Islamic heritage, it is not local traditions such as dhow commercial instincts, allied with enforced upon others, making sailing, camel riding and falconry are liberal attitudes, attracted the western clothing accepted for men still shared and celebrated. attention of neighbouring traders from India and other Gulf countries. By the late 1870s, Dubai had become the main port of the southern coast, developing major souks to enable visitors to barter their wares. Pearls, collected from offshore beds, and gold were key to the emirate’s prosperity until the discovery of ‘black gold’. In fact, it is not uncommon to see recently inaugurated Dubai Metro When Britain announced its windtowers sitting beside glittering rail system, which connects the withdrawal from the emirate in the skyscrapers and desert dunes city from end to end; the Palm 1960s, it prompted the formation rolling into green golf courses; a Jumeirah, the world’s largest of the United Arab Emirates, a testimony to Dubai’s visionary man-made island that can be seen federation that allowed each of the future coexisting harmoniously with from space; and the Burj Khalifa, seven emirates to pursue its own its carefully preserved heritage. the world’s tallest building and a policies and development strategies. masterpiece of urban planning, with This enabled Dubai, under the Dubai dared to dream big and the lakes, pedestrian boulevards, low- progressive leadership of the Al results of its realised vision can be rise residential neighbourhoods, Maktoum dynasty, to invest in seen everywhere: mega projects four hotels and The Dubai Mall. infrastructure, education and health have transformed the face of the It’s really no wonder that Dubai is care, thus providing the foundations emirate, extending its coastline, always described in superlatives – for Dubai’s development into a city greening the desert and reaching the most, the biggest and the best of the future. for the skies. These include the all reside in this city. 14 DUBAI MEETING AND EVENT Planners’ GUIDE WHY DUBAI 15 HEALTHCARE VISITOR INFORMATION Medical services in Dubai are of an international standard. PUBLIC HOLIDAYS Islamic holidays are based on the Hijri calendar, which is determined by the sighting of the moon. As a result, the dates of holidays are often confirmed less than 24 hours in advance. Some of these are Eid Al Fitr (three days), Eid Al Adha (four days), Al Hijra (one day), Mawlid Al Nabi (one day) and Al Isra Wal Miraj (one day).