Muscat: Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI)’s committee on exhibitions and conferences demanded exemptions from government fees, such as rents and tax, in addition to discounts of nearly 75% from Oman Convention and Exhibition Center when activities resume.
The Exhibitions and Conferences Committee of OCCI held its first meeting for 2021 by Eng Faisal al Shanfari, vice chairman of the committee, and in the presence of Eng Redha Juma al Saleh, chairman, OCCI.
The meeting discussed the issue of financial compensation and the members of the committee urged Oman Development Bank to finance companies with reasonable guarantees to mitigate the effects that the exhibition and conference companies faced due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The committee suggested that the exhibitions sector should be included in ODB Bank and Raffd Fund for loans to small and medium enterprises to help these companies to obtain financial compensation, in addition to financing loans guaranteed by the commercial registry to pay off the debts accumulated on them and to rearrange their conditions to continue.
According to GlobalaData, Meetings, incentives, conferencing, and exhibitions (MICE) tourism was one of the first types of tourism to be impacted by the global spread of COVID-19 and it could be one of the last to fully return as international business arrivals are still affected.
MICE events are now taking place online, without the need for companies operating in the tourism sector. This is a worrying trend for all industries involved in travel and tourism - the length of restrictions and guidelines last around MICE tourism, while other national economies start to pick up, the more companies, attendees and event organizers may start to become accustomed to hosting and attending MICE events online, whilst appreciating the unseen benefits they bring, the report said.
Companies in all sectors will be looking for ways to reduce costs in the coming years as they reel from the economic impact created by COVID-19. Business travel is a costly expense for all companies, and with the rise of video conferencing software such as Zoom and Google Meet, many will realize that this type of ongoing expense is unnecessary.
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