Abu Dhabi enters 'Top 100 MICE hub' list
Baku, May 17 (AZERTAC). Abu Dhabi has been named among the top 100 busiest global meetings destinations in the International Congress and Convention Association’s (ICCA) 2012 global city rankings for the first time, said a report.
The rankings are an annual league evaluated and published by Amsterdam-based ICCA, which represents the main specialists in organizing, transporting and accommodating international meetings and events, with over 950 members in 88 countries.
Last year Abu Dhabi and Dubai were both named the top Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (Mice) destinations in Mena region in the 5th Middle East Meetings Industry Research report compiled by Reed Travel Exhibitions and meetme magazine.
The report highlighted the rapid expansion of the industry in the UAE and predicted continuous growth.
Abu Dhabi, which played host to 22 association meetings last year, has made it to the 'Top 100' list jumping 134 places. The UAE capital had been in the 234th place in the ICAA ranking in 2011 with just eight meetings.
But now with new global ranking, the city has been placed alongside other major meetings cities including: Atlanta, Georgia; Brasilia and Perth, Australia; and higher than established global hubs such as Las Vegas in the US and Cologne in Germany.
Abu Dhabi is one of only two Gulf cities to make it to the Top 100 rankings - the other is Dubai which made it to 60th place with 38 meetings.
In 2012 the total number of events hosted at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) alone grew to 360 from 232 the previous year, a 55 per cent increase. In addition, 17 conferences were held that attracted almost 25,000 participants and 111 special events and meetings.
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