«Arabian fairy tale» or a fam trip to Abu Dhabi

The participants of the fam trip which took place from May 27th to June 2nd, had a chance to get acknowledged with MICE facilities of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. The trip was organized by the Russian Association of Business Travel (ABT) together with Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA). A group of 10 corporate buyers visited the largest emirate whose MICE venues have aroused growing interest on the part of companies from all over the world.

The fam trip program included visits to several five star hotels of the luxury segment, a tour to Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) to get acquainted with the center’s MICE facilities, a journey to the Formula-1 race track, Yas Marina Circuit, Ferrari World thematic park and many other things.

According to Ekaterina Alexandrova, ABT deputy executive director and the participant of the trip, the city with only a 30 years` history is expected to boost its positions on the travel market in the coming years. And the experts who think that Abu Dhabi city can become an international business tourism centre capable of competing with giants such as Paris, Milan and Boston, are likely to be right.

"Abu Dhabi changes dramatically. Here construction schedules are strictly observed, which is not common in Russia. Artificial islands are created to attract more tourists and to extend the coastline, ten lane roads and luxury hotels are built with a view to the future. Arabs approach all projects in the same way: they make long-term investments. — Ms. Alexandrova says. — As for hotels, they offer huge MICE complexes — meeting areas. The largest conference hall in Abu Dhabi can hold 2000 people, and the hotel can accommodate 3000 guests.

Even today Abu Dhabi offers business travellers a wide choice of hotels. «The city offers a lot of five star hotels with excellent service. Each hotel has rooms of various capacity: from small meeting rooms to huge conference halls — Senior Protocol Manager in Alfa Bank, Anna Ananyicheva, who took part in the trip, shares her impressions. — ADNEC is a perfect place for large scale events; its floor space is more than 21 thousand square meters. And as for an entertainment show, you can choose Al Forsan International Sports Resort that offers a good choice of golf fields, or visit the Yas Marina Circuit race track which was built using the latest technologies.

Eugene Chirikanov, Head of Business Travel Division of Corporate Support Department in the Financial Corporation «Otkrytie» also highly estimated the emirate’s MICE facilities. «I was astonished by everything I saw, although I knew a lot about the emirate. — Mr. Chirikanov admits. — I can say for sure, that there are lots of opportunities for business events and leisure here. The main thing is to have the money for it. If my chefs decide to go to the UAE, I will be glad to organize the journey.»

The fam trip was especially valuable, because Abu Dhabi is not a popular travel destination, says Maria Romanova, Head of Protocol in Mary Kay, who also participated in the fam trip to Abu Dhabi. «I admit that I had a very vague idea of this emirate. Everything I knew was about Dubai. — Ms. Romanova says. — No doubt, the trip was very useful for me, I now have an overall understanding of the city, its MICE opportunities, events of what size and type it can hold, what entertainment and teambuilding it can offer. It is hard to speak about certain dates now, but I will definitely offer this destination when planning business trips.»

Procurement Control & Travel Logistic Director in BBDO Group, Julia Zakharova, also admits that the UAE have been a real revelation for her: «It is my first time here. Before now I could only admire pictures of this country. Skyscrapers that grow out of sand, sky-blue sea, green trees that are not usual for a desert — it all seemed like a fairy-tale to me. And the fam trip allowed me to visit it. I think, Abu Dhabi will be one of our top destinations for our directors` trip next winter.»

It should be admitted that the fam trip was free for ABT members. All the participants came to the agreement that journeys like that help travel specialists grow into real professionals in certain destinations. This is a valuable opportunity to see everything with your own eyes and not judge by photos in the internet, to feel the service level, to get acquainted with the hotel management, to communicate with your colleagues in an informal atmosphere.

«A travel manager must be sure that he chooses the right hotel — Ms. Romanova explains. — It is always difficult to offer something new, and even more difficult to talk others into an experiment. I would like to thank the fam trip organizers very much, everything was done professionally and on a high level.»