Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) participated in the worldwide celebrations of Global Exhibitions Day (GED) on June 6, highlighting the strategic importance of the MICE industry to the growth of world economies.

The GED initiative, which began in 2016, has seen a growing number of participants and is actively supported by 40 exhibition industry associations and coordinated by UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry. As with previous GED events, industry professionals and students from around the world have been very active in online campaigns.

Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, Group CEO of ADNEC said: “We join the whole world as it celebrates GED on June 6, which aims to highlight the importance of the MICE industry for world economies. With over 260 million visitors and 4.4 million exhibitors generating EUR 98 billion in revenues every year, the MICE industry contributes significantly to the GDP of every country in the world.”

In 2017 ADNEC held 54 exhibitions, representing an increase of 25.5 per cent from 2016, including 13 new exhibitions. ADNEC upgraded its Wi-Fi network, spearheaded several ‘Green’ initiatives and recycled 1,049 tons of waste material. It launched its strategic ‘Innovation Lab’ initiative in 2017, generated 22,000 job opportunities within Abu Dhabi and contributed to the occupancy of 690,000 hotel nights in the emirate as a result of the hosted events and exhibitions.