Demand for Dubai meeting space to grow in 2012

Feb. 27, 2012 - PRLog -- UAE February 2012   –   The meetings market is set to be a key growth area this year according to City Seasons Hotels.

Director of sales and marketing City Seasons Hotel and City Seasons Suites Dubai Syed Mehdi says that while the incentive market may have dipped in the last few years the demand for meetings continues to increase.  

“Many of our meeting rooms are now sold, on an almost contract basis, to organisations running training courses” said Mehdi “Take a look at our meeting room boards on any given day and you will surely see at least one training organisation running a workshop”

With the fifth Middle East Meetings Industry Research report naming Dubai and Abu Dhabi top MENA MICE destinations Mehdi believes that, for them, the meetings segment will show a significant increase in 2012.

“Currently the percentage of business we get from the MICE market is 4% but we are looking to double that this year” said Mehdi. “The meetings business is a relatively small segment of our overall mix. But it will be a key growth area for us this year”

Mehdi says that since the downturn organisations have become much more budget conscious and as a result are tending to select properties that can offer more flexibility on pricing.

“As well as attractive rates we also provide equipment such as LCD projectors and screens as part of the package instead of charging extra as some luxury properties do” he said.
The focus for the City Seasons hotels this year is on acquiring a greater share of the GCC meetings market and to increase their exposure to the Chinese and Indian markets.

“Not so badly affected by the last few years economic woes China and the Middle East are strong markets for us and we will be focusing our efforts on creating greater awareness of our brand there” said Mehdi.
Both Dubai City Seasons properties provide a range of meeting facilities for small and medium size business needs and all of their meeting rooms come complete with overhead and LED projector, whiteboards and flipcharts, DVD/CD/video, WIFI internet connection and microphones.





Notes for the Editor

About City Seasons
Currently operating four hotels in Dubai, Al Ain and Abu Dhabi, City Seasons Group offers convenient city-centre locations, perfect for business and leisure.  Reflecting a fine blend of Arabian heritage and modern comfort, all hotels offer meeting and leisure facilities plus a selection of restaurants. City Seasons Muscat will open late 2010 with 380 rooms.

For further information please contact:

Elaine Nettleton
Communications Consultant
CTT Consulting    
PR & Marketing Communications
PO Box 117067
Dubai, UAE
Email: elaine@cttconsultingme.com
Mobile: +971 50 455 4347