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bq | INDUSTRIES I EVENTS
QATAR
EVENT-UALLY
GETT I N G THE RE
The growing industry of event management has seen many companies enter the fray in order to capitalize on the direction Qatar has taken to slowly move away from a purely hydrocarbon revenue By Ferras Mohssen, Doha Aspirations for Qatar to become one of the most sought after MICE destinations in the Middle East are high. With a large number of tourists entering the country, and active efforts by the QTA, the sector looks rather promising. bq speaks to some events companies in Doha in order to look at different areas that are considered important to both the company and the country in general, seeing the government views the meetings, conferences, and exhibitions sector as one of Qatar’s strengths. The MICE industry is rapidly growing in the GCC and is a key driver of the GCC governments’ economic development strategy. Dubai is currently recognized as the market leader of the MICE industry in the Middle East, while also dominating the USD 1.3 bn market with a leading market share, according to a Frost and Sullivan report Insights Middle East. “By 2020, Dubai is set to attract 16.5 million to 18 million leisure visitors and 3 mn to 4 mn business visitors. Of this figure, MICE visitors that currently equate to 0.9 mn, are estimated to double to between 1.7 mn and 1.9 mn; the remaining will be independent business travelers,” states the report. The Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA) of Abu Dhabi reveals that the MICE sector is generating AED 2.4 bn for Abu Dhabi per annum and is expected to reach AED 5.1 bn by 2020. Qatar is not far behind with the recent revelation of the QTA’s tourism strategy. Qatar’s short term strategy includes attracting business tourists through corporate conferences and events, and gradually pushing for leisure tourism over the next few years, with a large number of hospitality and retail ventures mushrooming. A brief glimpse at the MICE volumes in Qatar can be had from QNCC (Qatar National Convention Centre) statistics that reveal the venue has hosted over 300 events and seen above 175,000 delegates and visitors ever since its opening in December 2011. Most companies in the country are focused on corporate events and launches while some work on opening and closing ceremonies, and others would rather concentrate on events like weddings. Market share is always a strong indicator for a company about how well they are doing. Elegant Events, a medium-sized events company focusing primarily on weddings, is a company that does most of its events in Qatar, and say their market share is around 10-15 percent, which is quite decent by all standards. Focus profile The areas event companies focus on when planning an event can differ from one company to the next and they can range from catering to security. Elegant Events takes care of most of the aspects in-house except for catering and security; Avantgarde, a bigger event organizer focusing on Qatar and other parts of the GCC, www.bqdoha.com
also outsources catering and security along with equipment and printing services. The company was first founded in Munich in 1985 and opened its Qatar office in 2011. They mostly handle corporate and branding events. Vogue, a mainly Qatar-focused events company concentrating largely on luxury car and product launches handles logistics, collateral design, and PR while outsourcing everything else. Jumpzone Productions, one of the larger events companies, which opened its offices in 2003 in Qatar, and focuses on opening and closing ceremonies, mainly offers turnkey solutions. One size does not fit all When organizing an event, each company has its own way of going about it, based on what they feel is the best approach. Avantgarde says, “We strongly believe the event starts with the briefing. Therefore, we work quite closely with our clients at the beginning of each project. There is no particular formula, because every project is different in its kind. Furthermore, we use tools we have developed over the last 20 years.” Vogue on the other hand, has a more structured approach to organizing an event. It begins by assigning an account manager who coordinates with his/her teammates and that individual will contact suppliers and the talent required. Jumpzone takes a creative angle to their approach. “Once we work out what is required to realize the concept, we then budget it, sell it and begin work on making it a reality.”
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bq | INDUSTRIES I EVENTS
Name
Events type
Region
Size
Website
Avantgarde
Corporate & branding events
GCC
Big
www.avantgarde.de/en/locations/doha
Al Andalusia
Weddings & corporate events
Qatar
Medium
www.andalusia.qa
Elegant Events
Weddings
Qatar
Medium
elegant-events.com.qa
Jump zone
Opening & closing ceremonies
GCC & global
Big
www.jumpzone.tv/home
Oryx Events
Corporate events
Qatar
Medium
www.oryxevents.com
Q-LIVE
Cultural, entertainment, corporate & sporting events
Qatar
Medium
qlive-events.com
QMDI
Exhibitions & conferences
Qatar
Big
www.qmdi.com.qa
Showforce
Corporate events
Qatar, UAE & UK
Big
www.showforce.com
Snow Comms
Corporate & branding events
GCC & global
Big
snowcomms.com
Vogue
Luxury car & product launches
Qatar
Medium
www.voguepm.com
WRG
All sectors
Middle East & global Big
www.wrglive.com
* The list includes 11 of the several events companies working in Qatar
With so many events happening, many of the companies say they are approached by their clients especially if they are highly sought after by the public, then the sponsor is usually the one that makes initial contact. Pricing is an issue that of course comes to people’s minds and while some companies like Elegant Events say their prices for the kinds of services they offer range from QR 100,000 to QR 10 million, other companies say price is subjective based on what is asked of them and how big the event is, so they can’t really say they have a fixed price for the event they are working on. For the most part the trend that seems to be prominent with regard to events is in the use of technologies. And that trend can be seen in the various industry sectors here in Qatar such as health care, construction and others. Many of the companies believe that we will see a lot more events focused on promoting these technologies to the general public. Road blocks The challenges events businesses face also is very different. Elegant Events believe their biggest challenge is the unsurpassed closed-mindedness to creative ideas. “Most of the time the client
“The main challenge we face are companies and corporations that are not willing to change their event organizer to explore new ideas and opportunities” wants an international company to do his event even if the ideas that they provided are not to their expectation, and they pay millions for nothing. Or they are focused on price and they neglect creativity and the quality of the production so we struggle between these two issues.” Avantgarde’s challenge is the time factor. “Throughout all our projects, time is always the most critical part and usually a client’s decisions are not made in time and then there are many changes after approval.” Vogue's challenge revolves around companies and corporations afraid to break away from the familiar and try something new. “The main challenge we face are companies and corporations that are not willing to change their event
organizer to explore new ideas and opportunities, some prefer to deal with the same agency they have dealt with for the past five to10 years even though their idea and strategy have become outdated. The events industry is always changing and new technologies and ideas constantly surface to portray a better image for clients.” And that can be a real struggle because this industry like all others will keep changing. Jump zone’s challenge worryingly is with regards to the fairness of projects being awarded. Issues of corruption and under the table awarding of projects are some of the main issues they have faced along with projects being awarded in the second phase which reduces budgets and time. Currently, strategically speaking, several sectors in the GCC economies are massively benefiting from the exponentially growing MICE sector. The world of events management is a sunrise industry and like all sunrise industries, it has its own interesting challenges and opportunities that will have to be addressed in order for it to become a major revenue stream in the future.
* With inputs from Shereen D’Souza
DECEMBER 2014