Syed Hussein Al -Qassab
The event focuses on the future of exhibitions, conferences and artificial intelligence houses
Bahrain International Exhibition Center is one of the best centers in the Arab world
Bahrain is moving towards establishing its position on the map of the global business tourism
Organizing the Middle East Awards ceremony for the International Association and honoring a number of sector pioneers
The CEO of the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority, Sarah Bouhaji, confirmed that Bahrain’s hosting of the Middle East Summit for the International Association and Conferences Association is one of the important events on the agenda of the commission, noting that more than 100 personalities from different countries of the world in the fields of exhibitions and conferences, where these personalities were linked with partners in the Kingdom from the public and private sectors.
On the sidelines of the summit at the Bahrain International Exhibition Center, Sarah Bouhaji added that this event comes in line with the tourism strategy 2022-2026, and enhances Bahrain’s position as a center capable of attracting and organizing international events in a way that reflects positively on the occupancy of hotels and increasing the sector’s contribution to the local product.
Sarah Bouhaji indicated that Bahrain, despite its small area, has turned this challenge into an opportunity, as it provides an integrated experience as one destination through which coordination with various governmental and private bodies can be coordinated, stressing that the Kingdom has proven its ability to organize international activities that have a global resonance, and that it is moving in a confident pace towards consolidating its position on the business tourism map.
She explained that Bahrain does not enter traditional competition with neighboring countries, but always provides different experiences that prove its worth in this field. For his part, the director of the Oman Conference Office at the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism and the Regional President of the International Association for Meetings and Conferences, Khaled Al -Zajali, praised the importance of Bahrain’s hosting of this event, explaining that the holding of the summit reflects the Kingdom’s interest in attracting major events, not only from the promotional side, but also from a cognitive point of view by exchanging experiences between decision makers at the regional and international levels.
He stressed that such events contribute to promoting Bahrain as a leading destination in organizing conferences, in addition to involving various national and regional segments in this vital sector. In turn, the CEO of the Arab Exhibition and Conference Company, Bilal Barmawi, explained that Bahrain surprised the attendees at the level of the Bahrain World Exhibition Center, which is one of the most prominent centers at the level of the Arab world, expressing his pride in participating in this event organized by the International Association for Meetings and Conferences with the participation of a large number of decision makers in the field in the region.
He added that the event focuses on the future of the exhibition and conference industry, including the role of artificial intelligence, training and the development of human competencies. Barmawi added that Bahrain has proven through its long history that it is an important center for this industry, and still maintains its distinguished position thanks to the quality of the specialized events that it hosts. For his part, the advisor to the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority, Dr. Ali Foulameh, stated that hosting this regional conference represents an important addition to the national economy, and confirms the Kingdom’s position as a destination for the industry of meetings, incentives and conferences.
He stressed that the Ministry of Tourism and the Authority are working to implement strategic programs in this field in cooperation with various partners from the public and private sectors, stressing that Bahrain has all the ingredients that qualify it to be a permanent destination for international conferences. Foulameh indicated that the opening session of the summit witnessed the presentation of pivotal topics on the importance of time management and the maximum benefit from attending such events, stressing that Bahrain, despite its small area, is large in its history and its role in making global events. The Middle East Summit for the International Association for Meetings and Conferences concluded its business with a remarkable success, and the summit that was held for the first time in the Kingdom of Bahrain included comprehensive dialogue sessions, specialized workshops and inspiring discussions that touched on the formation of the future meeting, incentives, conferences and exhibitions worldwide.
Its activities included an agenda full of dynamic discussion dialogues that dealt with the developmental priorities of the international business activities sector. The dialogue session entitled “Bahrain’s tourism vision and the perspective of the international meeting sector” with the participation of the CEO of the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bahrain World Exhibition Center, focused on qualitative investments in the Kingdom and sustainable tourism innovations and initiatives designated for empowering youth Economic.
The session of “The Future of Division: The Launch of Regional Possibilities through Creativity, Honoring and Sustainability”, with the participation of the Executive Vice President of Resources and Projects at the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority, Dana Al -Saad, participated in the appropriate solutions to make destinations in the Middle East region more able to adopt innovation and cooperation to enhance their competition at the international level.
A number of dialogue sessions also dealt with the importance of artificial intelligence in developing the international conference and meetings sector, as the session of “AI Harness of the Entrepreneurial Marketing Entrepreneurship touched on the use of future strategies” to the use of predictive analysis and special campaigns to promote the promotion of destinations, in addition to the session “Artificial intelligence in the face of the human mind: Can innovation promote credibility in business activities?” It centered on launching an interactive feasibility study on the Sultanate’s experience in using artificial intelligence in the business activities sector.
A tour of the participants at the summit at the Bahrain International Exhibition Center – one of the largest exhibition and conference centers in the Middle East – was organized – through which they were briefed on the modern facilities of the center, its large halls, its qualitative services in the field of sustainability and its advanced digital solutions, as one of the best and most advanced exhibition centers and conference centers at the region level.
The curtain was brought up to the summit to organize the Middle East Awards for the International Association for Meetings and Conferences, in which a number of international meeting and conference pioneers who had a long history of innovation, development and insight into the performance of the business activities sector at the region level were honored.
