ITT Conference 2009 to be held in Dubai

It was announced this week that the prestigious annual ITT (Institute of Travel and Tourism) Conference 2009 will be held in Dubai at the InterContinental Hotel, Dubai Festival City next June (8-10 June 2009). The announcement was made to ITT members at the President�s Dinner at the Dorchester Hotel. Dubai saw off the competition from other Middle Eastern destinations to become the 2009 host.

The ITT announcement highlights Dubai�s position as a world-class MICE destination. The emirate�s leading accommodation, convention facilities, incentives and a strategic location all serve to demonstrate the emirate�s status as a global hotspot for the MICE industry, making it the obvious choice for the ITT. As the commercial and trading hub of the Middle East, Dubai has fast established itself as a world class business tourism destination and is the perfect location for organisations looking for a conference venue that reflects the emirate�s ambitious and progressive development.

The emirate�s status as a leading MICE destination is highlighted by the fact that in 2007 alone the Dubai World Trade Centre�s (DWTC�s) venues hosted over 100 exhibitions, attracting over one million visitors and this figure is set to grow further in 2008. Further to this, the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) has witnessed a dramatic increase in visitors � in 2007 visitors to the DICEC exceeded one million, representing a 25 per cent increase on the previous year.

Ian Scott, the UK and Ireland director of Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing comments, �We are delighted to have won the bid to host the ITT Conference in 2009. Dubai boasts a strong and diverse economy along with a booming tourism industry. Its strategic geographical location, state-of-the-art infrastructure and impressive business facilities are the most superior in the region and have paved the course to success as a world class MICE destination. Dubai is the perfect destination to host the world�s most prestigious events, such as the ITT Conference.�

The MICE market is an important economic sector for Dubai and the growth in MICE travel has led to a significant upsurge in the number of corporate visitors coming to the emirate. Accordingly MICE facilities in both the public and private sector have been expanded to meet the growing needs of the global community. Dubai�s capabilities are set to enhance with many more ambitious projects becoming a reality in the near future.

Living up to Dubai�s reputation for the extraordinary, Nakheel (the company behind The Palm Island projects) is developing one of the most exciting new projects on the emirate�s horizon. Following its recent purchase of the world famous QE2, the company has embarked on an ambitious venture to establish the historic liner which is set to become (among other things) an impressive conference centre moored on The Palm Jumeirah. Scheduled to arrive in November 2008, QE2 will surely be one of the world�s most unusual and spectacular conference and business meeting sites in the world, and a major addition to Dubai�s MICE offering.

There is a number of large-scale dedicated conference facilities in the emirate which focus entirely on the provision of world-class MICE facilities. Development of a new exhibition hall is near completion at Dubai World Trade Centre which will increase the capacity of DICEC. The venue currently provides 51,000 square metres of exhibition space and is set to double. In 2007, DICEC hosted more than 250 congresses, seminars and workshops, which in turn attracted 50,000 business delegates to Dubai and this number will continue to soar in line with the pace of the new developments. Other projects in the pipeline include Dubai Exhibition City, which will form part of the Dubai World Central development, adding a further 120,000 square metres of exhibition space by 2009.

As the first resort to open on the revolutionary island The Palm Jumeirah, Atlantis will combine exceptional meetings and conference facilities with outstanding leisure opportunities and worldwide cuisines and unrivalled seascape views from its prominent position on the island. The Atlantis Ballroom will offer one of the largest meeting spaces in Dubai with capacity for up to 2,500 people. The venue will also be unique in its ability to sleep up to 600 delegates under the same roof and opening up a new 'one-stop-shop' for meeting planners.

Dubai is a natural meeting place, along with world-class excellent infrastructure, its fortunate central geographic location on the crossroads between East and West making it accessible from all corners of the globe. The continuous stream of unique business projects, coupled with the dynamism, vibrancy and diversity of the city positions Dubai as the destination of choice for businesses across the globe who want to make themselves stand out from the crowd in today�s ever-increasingly competitive world economy.

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For further information, please contcat: Natasha Behrouz Tel: 020 7630 1411 Email: nbehrouz@thecommunicationgroup.co.uk