Press Release Details

ADNEC Announces another eventful and highly successful year

Publication Date: 11 Feb 2015

Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) has just completed another eventful and highly successful year. As we gear up to mark the 10th anniversary of our operations in 2015, it is perhaps a fitting time to look back, and take stock of some milestones that we have achieved along the way. Equally important, this is the time to reiterate our commitment to continuing our journey towards greater success and glory.

Although 2014 has been a year of challenges, we have maintained the positive momentum set in the previous year and achieved optimal growth rates that matched our projections. Additionally, we have solidified Abu Dhabi’s reputation as a leading MICE destination, building on its success in hosting a number of top international exhibitions and conferences.

At ADNEC, our vision is based on attracting a host of new international conferences for the first time to the Middle East, such as the World Energy Congress and the World Road Congress. In bidding for these events, we fended off stiff competition from prominent international cities that hold a long-standing reputation in organising and managing major events. Our perseverance helped us win the hosting rights for these events in 2019.

We have redoubled our efforts to develop and upgrade our facilities to pave the way for hosting more international and regional events. We look forward to the support of our strategic partners in pursuing our endeavors and placing ADNEC at the forefront of MICE industry.

In line with this priority, we have developed our outdoor exhibition spaces adjacent to the Grandstand building as well as the Capital Plaza area. This has enabled us to significantly increase our exhibition space, while expanding our physical capacity to host more global events.

In 2014, we maintained steady growth rates and recorded a strong year-end performance. ADNEC’s impact on Abu Dhabi's economy reached AED2.56 billion, up from the original projection of 2.55 billion. This was achieved despite the grim challenges and tough economic conditions in most parts of the world that had a direct and indirect impact on multiple economic segments, including the exhibitions and conferences sector.

In the exhibitions sector, we witnessed several landmark achievements in 2014, and hosted 327 events and more than 1.609 million visitors, an increase of 5.2% over 2013. ADNEC has also successfully attracted several new international conferences and this number is set to rise in 2015. To promote our event portfolio, we are working closely with our strategic partners to strengthen mutual cooperation. This year, we will continue our ongoing efforts to expand and upgrade our facilities to accommodate the anticipated growth in ADNEC’s activities and events.

ADNEC has also posted strong growth in the number of exhibitions hosted during the first half of 2014, climbing 56% to 28 events from 18 in the previous year. The company hosted a total of 159 new events across its venues in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain in 2014 .

The events organised by Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre in the first half included three international and three regional events. The Global Forum in Innovations in Agriculture 2014 (GFIA) was the most notable – one of the few events in the world dedicated to innovation and technology in agriculture. Held in Abu Dhabi for the first time, the forum successfully showcased game-changing innovations in sustainable agriculture and attracted 3,000 industry enthusiasts and experts.

In April 2014, ADNEC hosted ABILITIESme, a first-of-its-kind event in the region that sought greater inclusion and integration of people with disabilities and special needs into mainstream society. The event raised regional awareness about the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities in the United Arab Emirates and the wider Middle East. The event drew the participation of diverse stakeholders, including social workers, government officials, local opinion leaders and decision makers.

ADNEC also hosted several other major exhibitions and conferences last year including Eco Waste 2014, Education 2020, Fire and Emergency Middle East Exhibition, Occupational Safety and Health Middle East Conference, Industry Specialists for Middle East Air Cargo Exhibition and Conference, Logistics Exhibition and Conference 2014, Indian Property Exhibition, in addition to Future Education and Recruitment Conference and Exhibition and the Al Ain International Exhibition for Agriculture and Landscaping at the Al Ain Convention Centre.

October 2014 has been ADNEC’s busiest month of exhibitions and conference throughout 2014. Welcoming tens of thousands of delegates and participants during October, ADNEC hosted eight large-scale events covering various industries including energy, health, water sustainability, show business and family and community awareness.  ADNEC’s continued growth marks it out as a key player in the development of the business tourism sector in Abu Dhabi.

Last year, ADNEC also hosted one of the most successful and largest editions of Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC) attracting more than 1,800 exhibitors, and more than 76,000 attendees from 112 countries during the four days of the event.

Needless to say, we credit our success to our people. ADNEC today is staffed with a team of talented Emiratis who are the driving force behind the development of the organisation as our potential leaders of tomorrow. Towards the end of 2014, we had achieved a 51% Emiratisation rate. Additionally, 83% of our senior management positions are held today by qualified, young UAE nationals.

While we devote all efforts to becoming the best events venue in the region, we also extend unique opportunities to our partners and stakeholders to participate in the evolving ADNEC story.

Last year, we witnessed the appointment of Khalifa Al Qubaisi, Head of Sales - Congresses & Conferences, as Chairperson of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) - Middle East chapter for 2014-2016. Al Qubaisi becomes the first ever Emirati to assume the coveted position in the conferences and meetings sector since ICCA’s inception in 1963.

This appointment serves the bigger role of enabling the UAE to make more effective contributions to the international and regional congress and convention landscape. It will allow young national leaders to elevate the reputation of the UAE at regional and international levels.

ADNEC is proud to be a key enabler of national workforce by providing the MICE industry with qualified young leaders who are able to reinforce the role and contribution of this vital industry within the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030

In September 2014, ADNEC launched its internal excellence award to honour the outstanding performance of employees and departments.

The award was instituted in line with the directives of His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, to launch excellence award programmes at each Abu Dhabi government entity, and augment the Abu Dhabi Award for Excellence in Government Performance (ADAEP) and contribute to the achievement of its goals.

The award aims to achieve performance excellence across ADNEC’s departments through improving work mechanisms in all sectors, and promoting a culture of quality and transparency to make it an essential component of ADNEC’s working environment. It will also contribute to promoting a competitive spirit among various departments and divisions while developing capacities of employees on par with global best practices. This will allow employees to offer quality services to the public and ADNEC’s partners in the private and public sectors. 

The internal excellence award is divided into three main categories: excellent management, excellent project and team, and excellent employee. Independent jury members will be invited from outside the company to assess the first and second award categories, while the last one will be assessed inside ADNEC.

In October 2014, ADNEC joined hands with the Department of Economic Development (DED) to open a new branch of DED’s Abu Dhabi Business Centre at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC). The new facility serves as a one-stop-shop delivering more than 18 different services to entities that participate in the exhibitions and conferences hosted at ADNEC throughout the year. It comes as part of ADNEC’s ongoing efforts to upgrade the infrastructure and services offered to its national and international exhibitors and visitors.

The centre facilitates processes for those interested in doing business, conducting economic activities, and setting up offices in Abu Dhabi. It is particularly useful to companies located in the vicinity of the exhibition centre, especially those at Capital Centre that accommodates 23 commercial and residential towers.

It should be noted that ADNEC offers specialized support services to the business community, such as banking, postal and logistical services to benefit event and exhibition organisers, as well as services to facilitate travel procedures for visitors transiting through the Abu Dhabi International Airport.

As for ExCeL London, the venue welcomed its 20 millionth visitor during the last edition of London Tech Week and The Protection and Management Series. The achievement marked a fantastic milestone for ExCeL London and underpinned its ambition to be the home of world of leading events.

Since opening in 2000, ExCeL London has hosted over 4,500 events. It looks forward to the continued success of its customers' events and anticipates that it will welcome its 30 millionth visitor within the next 3 years

In 2014, ExCel London and London & Partners announced three major association wins for the City in 2016 including the European Respiratory Society and Euroanaesthesia, and EULAR (The European League Against Rheumatism).

Looking forward, 2015 will be ExCeL London's best ever year for congresses, with more ICCA rated events than ever before. This includes the European Society of Cardiology, which will be welcoming 35,000 international delegates next August.

The record number of associations that are now choosing London is an endorsement of the decision to open our International Convention Centre. The world renowned attraction of London is responsible for delivering record breaking attendance and is why so many associations are now seeing the London city as a prime location for their events.

In 2014, ExCeL London won a total of seven awards, bagging all accolades within the exhibition industry.

Adopting the highest standards of international Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) practices is a key priority at ADNEC as part of its efforts to protect the health of its employees as well as create an enabling environment for its strategic partners. To achieve this priority, ADNEC has formed a dedicated team to deal with any health and safety issues as well as develop HSE management systems. This team is responsible for promoting compliance with HSE standards across the company’s operations, while striving to increase HSE awareness among our employees.

ADNEC is committed to maintaining high levels of safety standards across its facilities and ensuring the health and well-being of its employees through providing a safe working environment and following clear HSE policies and procedures. Our HSE team is responsible for the implementation of all agreed safety procedures and providing necessary safety equipment at work. They also offer a series of training programs to equip ADNEC staff with necessary knowledge that will help them work safely.

ADNEC’s Environment, Health and Safety Management System (EHSMS) has been approved and accredited by the Abu Dhabi Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Centre. The initiative has been developed to regulate and maintain an organisational culture focused on occupational health and safety in the exhibition and event sector – here at ADNEC as well as across the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

In addition to meeting the mandatory HSE requirements of government, a positive health and safety culture in the industry helps ADNEC manage and control occupational hazards and risks, improve health conditions and reduce accidents. In turn, the initiative has significantly helped us cut business costs.

At ADNEC, we remain committed to protecting the environment and achieving balanced results - environmentally, economically and socially. In line with our corporate values, ADNEC looks to continually develop services and products towards protecting the natural resources and reducing waste.

We also strive to promote environmental, social and economic sustainability for the optimal benefit of our stakeholders, including shareholders, employees, customers and the wider community. Additionally, we work towards increasing the knowledge and awareness of our employees through encouraging them to participate in various sustainability initiatives.

ADNEC officially joined the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group (ADSG) in 2012 and has participated since then in a number of development workshops conducted by ADSG.

ADNEC is also represented in the steering and coordination committee of ADSG which submits its reports directly to the ADSG management.

ADGS strives to promote sustainability management in Abu Dhabi by providing learning and knowledge sharing opportunities for government, private companies as well as non-profit organizations in a spirit of cooperation and open dialogue.

ADNEC is a member of the UFI Sustainability Development Committee. The UFI Committee on Sustainable Development was formally established in 2008 to support UFI, which focuses on the issue of sustainable development in the exhibition industry. ADNEC was one of six members that actively helped the UFI Sustainability Development Committee create the Sustainability Reporting Framework for the exhibition industry.

ADNEC is committed to pursuing a policy that promotes a development model to bring about various social and economic benefits. At ADNEC, we have a dedicated team to address various environmental problems and issues. This team consists of representatives from various departments and meets periodically to discuss the adoption of innovative recycling ideas.

At ADNEC, we are constantly developing new systems and procedures that will allow us to minimise the impact of our business on environment through the use of innovative technologies. Today, ADNEC stands out as a regional success model for the implementation of sustainability standards as an integral part of our daily work. We also encourage other organisations to follow our suit in this regards.

In 2014, ADNEC recycled more than 107 tons of recyclable materials, reducing more than 183 tons of carbon emission, and promoting the status of ADNEC as a leader in environmental conservation and sustainability in the UAE.

More specifically, we recycled 39 tons of paper, reducing about 51 tons of carbon emissions and saving 658 trees, as well as 18 gallons of oil and over 271 gallons of water.

Additionally, we recycled 63 tons of cardboard in different types, cutting down 94 tons of carbon emissions. Three tons of metals, three tons of iron, three tons of coal, 203 kg of soft drink cans were also recycled resulting in savings of 3,132 kilowatt hour electricity.

While the recycling of three tons of plastic bottles saved up to 12,318 kilowatt hour electricity, the recycling of food wastes resulted in the production of 17 tons of fertilizer, which is equivalent to taking 18 cars off the road for a full year.

In recognition of our efforts and initiatives to promote sustainability regionally and internationally, ADNEC was honoured with two awards at the annual Association of Event Organisers (AEO) awards ceremony held in London. These high profile industry awards recognise the best that the global events industry has to offer, celebrating organisers’ achievements, venue excellence and service quality.

Looking ahead, we reaffirm our commitment to further developing ADNEC as a premier event venue through integrating new ideas. ADNEC is well poised to build on the successes achieved in the past years. Towards translating our vision, we will leverage the continued support and contributions of our employees and stakeholders. In all that we do and achieve, our ambition to consolidate Abu Dhabi’s reputation as a leading MICE destination will always remain our number one priority.