GIBTM 08: The Gulf Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition

GIBTM – was launched in 2007 in response to the demand by the region to have a dedicated and regular event for the meetings and incentives industry, also known as MICE. Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) were delighted to be approached by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) to organise such an event.

It fitted perfectly with their strategy to be represented in dynamic emerging markets with the real potential to become key destinations on the map for meeting planners.  GIBTM not only joins RTE’s growing portfolio of global meetings and incentive events that include EIBTM, CIBTM AIME, ICCA but replicates all of the core brand values that make RTE the world’s leaders in the industry sector.

Opening Times and Where? 
GIBTM 2008 - The Gulf Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition will take place from 8 - 10 April 2008 at ADNEC in Abu Dhabi.

The event will be open at the following times:
• Tuesday 8 April 2008: 10.00 - 18.00
• Wednesday 9 April 2008: 10.00 - 18.00
• Thursday 10 April 2008: 10.00 - 17.00

How is GIBTM different to other exhibitions in the Gulf region?
• GIBTM is the only event in the Gulf region that is dedicated to the meetings industry and focuses solely on the sector for three days.
• GIBTM is based on the successful format and brand values of EIBTM (its sister show which is held annually in Barcelona, Spain) which provide the best business-to-business opportunities, the best networking and best professional education programme.
• GIBTM is driven by a quality Hosted Buyer programme – a trade mark of all the RTE global meeting events portfolio.  More information about this programme is included within this document.  A key aspect of the Hosted Buyer programme is that the appointments are buyer driven, an initiative that exhibitors consider of prime importance.
• As with all of the RTE meetings and incentives portfolio, GIBTM is run by a specialist team of meetings industry professionals who are immersed in the industry and have a fundamental belief in delivering a high quality event in all areas. 

Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the largest of the seven individual emirates that make up the country.  With 10% of the world's known oil reserves, Abu Dhabi ranks as the richest of the emirates and a global economic powerhouse in its own right.
Abu Dhabi offers outstanding potential as a destination for business related tourism. It has nearly 6,000 four and five-star hotel rooms including its jewel in the crown - the Emirates Palace and Conference Centre - the latter being the largest hotel-based meetings facility in the Middle East. Since 2007 several new hotels and venues have now opened to include the Shangri-La Qaryat Al Beri and the newly refurbished Intercontinental.  A tourism development and investment company has been formed with a paid up capital of $27.2 million, to aid in the construction of some 4,000 new hotel rooms between 2007 and 2010, and another 13,000 rooms between 2010 and 2015.
A wave of investment in high-end infrastructure is planned for the next few years to put Abu Dhabi on to the meetings and incentives destination map. Projects include a US$177 million hotel complex with 230 rooms; a new deluxe property operated by Fairmont, the Saadiyat Island project and other Island developments.
Year round sunshine and superb facilities for leisure and recreation, combined with its dynamic city, unspoiled beaches and desert location make the UAE attractive to international visitors.
Visitors will enjoy Abu Dhabi's cultural blend of east and west, unforgettable contrasts and spectacular landscapes that this unique destination has to offer.