First Impressions
A group’s initial experience in Dubai pays off for them in big ways.
By Sandi Cain
After the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) chose Dubai for its first international conference, it ended up opening an office in the region, promised to stage its global conference in other member countries and granted Dubai annual one-day conferences in years when that city doesn’t host the larger event—all stemming from that first experience.
The 60,000-member organization counts about 12 percent of its membership in the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) accounts for the biggest block of those members, with Saudi Arabia and Egypt close behind—a big plus for Jim Gurowka, IMA director of international development, who was able to leverage members’ local expertise to choose the city and venue for the global event. Though the group considered destinations in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, it ended up in Dubai in part because of easy access and a wealth of tourist attractions to draw people to the city.
The local chapter helped select the venue—a vital component of a successful event in, Gurowka says.
“Location matters tremendously in Dubai,” he said. “Which side of Dubai Creek you’re on and what district you’re in has a big impact on whether people from the region come to the event.”
By choosing the Deira district (and the JW Marriott Dubai), the group had a convenient business location where the 150 attendees could stay on site. That’s a big plus in a city known for Western-style traffic jams, Gurowka says.
Because of the large local membership base, IMA was able to land some royal patronage for its conference, lending credibility to the new event and providing exposure for it in a burgeoning city where it’s increasingly difficult to garner attention. Gurowka says royal patronage is a plus for marketing, but also brings its share of protocol and security requirements that groups must address.
For other conference arrangements, IMA employed the services of DMC Congress Solutions, an affiliate of the Emirates Group.
“We liked their ability to tap into the [Emirates] marketing potential,” Gurowka said.
The DMC proved useful for onsite logistics such as multilingual signage, registration assistance and culturally suitable marketing materials.
Gurowka says a big plus was the DMC’s ability to arrange for regional attendees to pay in local currency. U.S.-based organizations can’t do business with certain countries and some international banks, yet IMA has members in those countries. Congress Solutions took care of the currency transfers, which enabled more people to easily attend. The DMC also arranged to pick up speakers at the airport, take them through customs and bring them to the hotel for a reasonable fee.
For last year’s event, IMA asked the Marriott to help the group reduce its overall expenses. Hector Mendonca, the hotel’s director of event management, says the property reviewed the program and recommended using different and more flexible meeting space and found ways to reduce audiovisual costs. In addition, the hotel allowed IMA to release rooms from its block at 90-day, 60-day and 30-day intervals that helped IMA meet its guarantees while allowing the hotel to manage inventory.
“IMA was very organized with the meeting program and knew exactly what it needed to achieve,” Mendonca said. “That makes it easier for the hotel.”
The Marriott, Congress Solutions and local chapter members worked as a team with IMA leadership to make all attendees as comfortable and welcome as possible. The hotel made certain that staff knew the makeup of the group and details of the event so they could properly acknowledge the delegates during the conference.
Chapter members provided translation services for the Web page and printed materials and helped educate other members about cultural issues such as the proper way to greet people of the opposite sex. They helped design the schedule so that lunch and other breaks could be built in around Muslim prayer times.
Even with local help, there were a few minor glitches. Gurowka says he learned the first year in Dubai to start sessions later than he would in the U.S. When he scheduled the first session to start at 8 a.m., the room was nearly empty. They quickly moved starting times to 9 a.m.—more in line with local customs. And though the group strives to be respectful of attitudes toward alcohol, even organizers were surprised on a dinner cruise when one group that didn’t drink wouldn’t even sit at the same table with those who did.
“There were no hard feelings, just cultural differences,” he said.
The teamwork between the organization, its local members, the hotel and the DMC helped IMA achieve a successful conference and led to the decision to launch in other countries. The most positive part of the event aside from the professional development, Gurowka says, has been the “amazing networking opportunities” and the friendships that develop.
They’re so confident they can replicate that experience that the group will stage its next global event in China.
One+EMEA
SANDI CAIN is a freelance writer based in Laguna Beach, Calif.
Transportation Tips
- Dubai International Airport is approximately two miles from downtown Dubai and is served by more than 100 airlines with service to 130 destinations aboard 4,000 weekly international flights. An expansion expected to be complete this year will increase its capacity to 70 million passengers annually.
- Citizens of the following countries do not need a visa to enter Dubai: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Holland, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.S. and Vatican City.
Fun Facts
- Dubai is the second-largest of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates.
- Dubai Creek is actually a saltwater inlet that runs through the city center and is the only natural port entrance to the city.
- Oil revenue accounts for just 10 percent of Dubai City’s gross domestic product.
What’s New in Dubai
- Exhibition City, a meeting and convention complex, will open Phase I in 2009 and be completed by 2020. When finished, it will offer more than 5.34 million square feet of space, including 19 exhibition halls.
- The Dubai Mall in Downtown Burj Dubai opened at the end of 2008. The 12.1 million-square-foot mall has 1,200 specialty stores, more than 150 food and beverage options and an array of world-class attractions.
- Numerous hotels are scheduled to open this year, including the 371-room Hilton Jumeirah Beach, the 301-room Amwaj Rotana Resort, the 160-room Armani Hotel Dubai, Business Bay Hotel with 300 guest rooms the 1,050-room Dubailand Conference & Convention Hotel with 17,000 square feet of meeting space and the 486-room JAL Tower.