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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Oman to organise first ICCA Oman Meetings Association Expert Forum

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The recently launched Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre (OCEC) in collaboration with the Oman Convention Bureau (Ministry of Tourism) and the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) will be organising the first edition of the annual ICCA Oman Meetings Association Expert Forum supporting Oman’s 2040 tourism strategy.


The two-day forum will be held on November 20-21 in the state-of-the-art Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre. The forum will comprise international associations that will share their expertise and embark on strategic working relationships with local associations in Oman.


The Sultanate of Oman is renowned for its authentic culture and heritage, and now with the rapid development of infrastructure for the meetings industry, Oman is becoming a sought-after destination for association meetings in the Middle East region.


Khalid al Zadjali, Director of the Oman Convention Bureau commented: “This event is a part of the strategy implemented by the Ministry of Tourism through the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre to promote and indorse the business tourism and conference sector in the Sultanate. The Ministry of Tourism is keen to cooperate with various organisations to achieve the economic and tourism objectives. We are delighted to host eight global leading associations in the forum who will share their best practices with our stakeholders and at the same time we will be able to showcase Oman to them as a great option for their future conferences.”


Senthil Gopinath, Regional Director (Middle East) of ICCA further added said, “The Middle East meetings segment has seen unprecedented growth in the last decade.


Establishing this forum gives ICCA the opportunity to connect Oman and the region with our global network of practitioners, allowing for knowledge sharing and understanding the needs of the meetings business in a deeper approach.


ICCA’s primary objective of the forum is to enhance the position of Oman within the global meetings segment, develop the expertise of the meetings industry and ensure capacity building. It’s a landmark forum in Oman which bring leading association experts together.”


Trevor McCartney, General Manager of Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre, said: “We are delighted to host such a vital forum in collaboration with ICCA, which is in line with the country’s vision to be a leading global destination for events, exhibitions and conferences. The central point of this strategy is the country’s new world-class venue, the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre, which has just welcomed over 101 events within the first year of operation.”


OCEC currently offers 22,000 square metres of column-free exhibition space which will be followed by the soon to launch, 450-seat auditorium, two versatile ballrooms, 20 meeting rooms with a capacity of up to 360 delegates, hospitality suites, a VIP pavilion and finally a tiered theatre with 3,200 seats. A total of 600 hotel rooms including the Crowne Plaza Muscat OCEC opening this month and a five star JW Marriott will be within close proximity to the centre.


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