Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC), a subsidiary of ADQ, today announced that the value of its direct and indirect impact on the Abu Dhabi economy in 2019 registered AED 4.9 billion, demonstrating an impressive increase of 46% from 2018. This takes the total value of its contribution to the local economy since its inception in 2005 to AED 36.9 billion.
ADNEC’s strong 2019 results followed a 15.8% growth in the number of visitors from across the globe during 2019 which came to 2.3 million visitors. This took the total visitor count at its venues to 19.8 million since inception in 2005.
For 2019, events hosted by Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre and Al Ain Convention Centre were 496. This brings the total number of events hosted by ADNEC’s venues since its inception 15 years ago to 3,887 events.
In 2019, ADNEC venues collectively hosted 11 new exhibitions which showed an increase of 22.2% compared to 2018 and ADNEC hosted 60 global and local exhibitions, representing a 5.2% increase over 2018.
ADNEC hosted last year 28 international conferences, 10 conferences of them were held for the first time in the Middle East. ADNEC also won eight bids for hosting major international conferences in comparison to five bids won in 2018, registering 60% growth.
The company also revealed that it supported the creation of job opportunities reaching 27,543 jobs in related sectors, representing a 42.36% increase, and helped generate 764,161 guest nights for the hospitality sector in the Emirate, indicating a 61.4% increase from 2018.
In the past year, 72% of the total workforce were Emiratis, while Emiratisation of senior management positions reached 87%.
The company achieved the highest customer satisfaction rating in the global events and exhibitions industry at 95.3%, up 0.6% from 2018, and employee happiness reached 85%, up 3.65% from 2018.
ExCeL London, the wholly owned subsidiary of ADNEC in the UK capital, put on 431 events which was up 4.61% from 2018 and welcomed 4 million visitors which was up 73.9% from last year.
H.E. Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, Managing Director and Group CEO of ADNEC, said: “2019 was an exemplary year for the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company as we achieved a number of major successes and milestones, cementing our positioning at the forefront of the business tourism industry. ADNEC continues to align with the Abu Dhabi 2030 Plan and Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 to support the promotion of Abu Dhabi as the region’s pioneering business tourism hub through hosting leading international exhibitions and conferences.”
H.E. added: “2019 was a record-breaking year for ADNEC Group, with exceptional results achieved across the board along with important growth in events, exhibitions and conferences. Year on year, we have strengthened our efforts to promote the UAE capital as a world-class destination and a leader in business tourism. Our results are a testament of our dedicated and committed teams who strive to elevate the company’s excellence at both local and international levels.”
“We look forward to continuing our efforts to solidify Abu Dhabi’s leading status as the business tourism capital of the region and to maintain our reputation for offering organisers, exhibitors and delegations world class facilities and services to ensure the continued success of their events hosted at our venues,” he added.
Events hosted and organised in the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company in the first half of 2019 included many important key industry events. January kicked off with the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) dedicated to innovation in energy, clean technology and efficiency for a sustainable future and the event attracted 34,000 attendees. Additionally in January was the 13th Tawdheef exhibition, the region’s leading Emiratisation exhibition, which focuses on employment and professional development, aiming to increase the national workforce and support job seekers.
One of the most notable events for the first half of the year, organised by ADNEC was IDEX and NAVDEX 2019, held in February. Over the five day event, IDEX and NAVDEX attracted more than 124,370 visitors, as well as 1,213 media representatives from 42 countries, and the event registered deals worth AED20 billion.
Making its debut in the region in March 2019, ADNEC supported the Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 as a gold official partner and gold venue partner. The company’s flagship venue hosted 11 indoor categories – the highest number of all venues – including badminton, basketball, judo, table tennis and volleyball. The event drew the participation of over 7,500 athletes representing 190 countries, who competed in 24 individual and team sports, in addition to 3,000 coaches.
ADNEC also hosted several other major exhibitions and conferences in the first half of the year including CityScape, Bride Abu Dhabi, The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, Emirates Skills, and the International Motor Show.
The last half of 2019 saw a very busy period for ADNEC with mega events, exhibitions and conferences. In August, ADNEC hosted The Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (ADIHEX), the only sports exhibition dedicated to hunting, equestrian, marine and outdoor sports in the region. In September, ADNEC hosted The World Energy Congress (WEC) one of the world’s most important energy forums that saw more than 15,000 attendees from the UAE and abroad including 4,000 delegates and 66 ministers. The UAE was the first Middle Eastern country to host WEC and the exhibition featured over 200 exhibitors, representing more than 150 countries altogether.
Additionally, in September, ADNEC hosted the EuroTier Middle East exhibition, which was held for the first time in the region, witnessing the participation of 120 international companies from 18 countries, and attracting more than 11,000 visitors. October saw ADNEC organise and host the second edition of the Abu Dhabi International Boat Show (ADIBS) and the event drew the participation of 26,000 visitors and 284 exhibiting companies from 27 countries.
In November, ANDEC hosted one of the most successful and largest editions of the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC), attracting more than 145,000 attendees with 2,000-plus exhibiting companies from 67 countries, including the energy sector’s biggest oil and gas international producers.
Furthermore, in December, ADNEC both hosted and organised the 10th Anniversary edition of SIAL ME, one of the largest food, beverage and hospitality events in the region, and the fifth edition of Abu Dhabi Date Palm Exhibition (ADDPE). SIAL ME, 2019 was the biggest edition since its launch in 2010 and it facilitated a huge number of trade deals valued over AED 7.2billion during the three-day event. The event drew 23,000 industry experts and unique visitors with a growth rate of 13% from 2018, from more than 50 countries.
2019 also saw ADNEC receive important accolades, winning both the International Association of Convention Centres’ (AIPC) Innovation Award for its innovative meeting space, the Hive, and the EFQM Innovation Challenge Award on the side-lines of the forum held in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, in two categories; ‘Innovation in Customer Experience’ and ‘Innovation in the Circular Economy’. These awards further showcase the company’s proven efforts in excellence and innovation and highlight important work around sustainable development and innovative projects. These wins are another milestone that strengthens ADNEC’s global position.
