EYING the massive and fast expanding business tourism market in the Middle East, the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) unveiled its latest tourism initiatives at the the Gulf Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition (GIBTM).
While the beautiful emirate has long been known for its magnificent Arabesque architecture and celebration of Islamic culture and heritage and attracts hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists all through the year, the SCTDA has of late begun to focus on the untapped potential of business tourism or Mice in the region.
Commenting on the extraordinary response to SCTDA’s initiatives to promote Sharjah at GIBTM 2011, Mohamad Al Noman, SCTDA director general, underscored the importance of attracting business tourism. “Business tourism has been driving the tourism industry in the UAE. It’s a very important tourism product because of the high revenue it generates and its role as the key to larger scale tourism marketing,” he said.
The emirate is home to world-class infrastructure and facilities that are essential to business tourism. In fact, with facilities like Expo Centre Sharjah, it was the first in the region to host international exhibitions, events and conferences.
The Abu Dhabi exhibition, with nearly 300 participants, offered a perfect platform and opportunity to showcase Sharjah as an ideal international destination for business tourism all year round. While the UAE has long been one of the most popular centres of business tourism and the hub of the burgeoning Mice industry in the Middle East, Sharjah believes it has emerged as an ideal destination for exhibitions, conferences and meetings in the region.