Contenders in the convention circle

The Life: They have been called the "holy grail" of the meetings industry - and tourism agencies all over the world are practically falling over themselves to book them. But how do you land an association congress?

The race to host congresses is heating up throughout the Gulf as these events generate tourism revenues for host cities. Pawan Singh / The National

Association congresses have been called the "holy grail" of the meetings industry - and tourism agencies all over the world work diligently to book them.

These events bring together thousands of professionals to discuss issues in their industries - and they generate revenue for host cities.

At the moment, Abu Dhabi and Dubai mainly compete against each other for events such as the World Diabetes Congress, which was held in Dubai last year, and the World Ophthalmology Congress, which took place last month in Abu Dhabi.

But the race to host congresses is heating up throughout the Gulf. A large convention centre opened in Qatar late last year, and Oman's offering is due to be completed in 2015.

"We're now having major convention facilities in these destinations for the first time," says Rob Nicholas, the managing director of Nicholas Publishing International in Dubai.

The company produces a range of business industry magazines.

Abu Dhabi and Dubai have good air links and world-class conference centres, so how do they best set themselves apart from others in the region - and compete against each other?

"I know from talking to the guy who organises the Diabetes Congress, he was saying that one of the key things that made them choose Dubai was the availability of public transport - the Metro," says Mr Nicholas.

Abu Dhabi does not have such an extensive public transport network, so deciding to provide a special bus service for those attending the recent ophthalmology event was smart, Mr Nicholas says.

Another positive point for Dubai is the mix of accommodation on offer. The emirate used to be dominated by luxury hotel chains, which made it harder to bring in tiered conferences.

But now there are serviced apartments, five-star hotels and everything in between.

"That's not necessarily the case in places like Qatar," says Mr Nicholas.

Abu Dhabi still has a larger proportion of five-star hotels than Dubai, but the rates tend to be lower than in its northern neighbour.

"If I was an Abu Dhabi hotel at the moment, I would be thinking 'great, the rates are so much less and we have the occupancy to fill - so let's go and target business that would ordinarily go to Dubai'," says Mr Nicholas.

So far, Abu Dhabi has correctly focused on niche tourism, whether it is related to sports, culture or business, experts say.

"They're looking at bringing quality tourism to the capital, not mass tourism," says Mr Nicholas.

"That's basically the danger for Abu Dhabi at the moment," he says. "And I think it is why it needs to focus even more on business tourism" - which is where, he notes, the Gulf Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition (GIBTM) comes in.

The expo, which will be held this month in Abu Dhabi, provides a platform for sellers to illustrate opportunities in the region.

A key aim of this year's show is raising awareness among potential attendees, because many people here do not recognise that they are part of the industry, says Lois Hall, the exhibition manager of GIBTM.

In other parts of the world, professionals have job titles such as "event planner" and "congress manager", but such titles are uncommon here.

"It's really difficult to educate these people and bring them into our community if they don't realise they're in it, which is why at GIBTM our education programme is very much targeted towards that," says Ms Hall. "You can't grow something if the people don't realise they're involved in it."