exhibitions: GIBTM reports: ADTA push to secure regional corporates
ADTA push to secure regional corporates
Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) is actively pursuing regional corporate meeting planners with the rollout of phase two of its Advantage Abu Dhabi initiative.
The programme targets companies and bookers for whom this is not a specialist field of expertise, yet who have the potential to drive significant new business into Abu Dhabi’s growing meeting and conference sector.
A GCC-wide media campaign launched at the beginning of March, with print ads in the mainstream regional press as well as online titles, with a particular focus on the Arabic-speaking market.
According to Gillian Taylor, business tourism manager, ADTA, initial feedback has been encouraging. “We have received around 10 enquiries to date with one already converted into a piece of business for an Abu Dhabi-based government organisation, bringing in 50 to 60 people to the Aloft hotel.”
The media campaign is designed to drive business to the Advantage Abu Dhabi section of ADTA’s website where full details of the incentivised programme are listed.
ADTA is also sending out flyers to the emirate’s hotels and business groups as a secondary distribution channel to target their corporate databases. “We need to look at different ways to disseminate the message to reach a wider audience as part of our mandate to increase Abu Dhabi room nights by 10 percent this year,” added Taylor.
Advantage Abu Dhabi’s next move is to boost delegate attendance at those exhibitions that are already part of the annual Abu Dhabi calendar, as Taylor explains: “We are planning to place strategic ads promoting upcoming exhibitions at the airports in Dubai, Doha and Jeddah to target regular business travellers. We want to see more regional business in Abu Dhabi and to look outside of overseas markets which have been affected as part of the global situation.”
