Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (Adnec), a subsidiary of ADQ, has announced its achievements for 2021, with the value of its direct and indirect impact on the Abu Dhabi economy in 2021 registering at AED2.4 billion ($653 million).
During 2021, The Group made significant investments and expanded its mandate to the leisure tourism sector, which contributed to a strategic approach to diversifying the portfolio.
Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, Managing Director and Group CEO of Adnec, said: “2021 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 support the promotion of Abu Dhabi as the region’s pioneering business tourism hub through hosting leading international exhibitions and conferences.”
“Our success is a testament to the dedicated and committed teams who constantly strive to elevate the company’s standard of excellence, flexibility and adopting best practices at both local and international levels.
“Together, with our partners, we have overcome unprecedented challenges of recent years and look forward to a bright future ahead as we continue to evolve our business throughout the recovery phase of the global pandemic and navigate a pathway to sustained success,” he added.
In 2021, Adnec, in collaboration with SEHA, continued to be a key player in delivering critical support for Abu Dhabi and the UAE – mitigating the impact of Covid-19.
Throughout 2021, Adnec also launched Tourism 365, to support in creating experiential travel opportunities for tourists coming to Abu Dhabi, and to enhance the emirate’s regional and global positioning in the wider tourism sector.
Tourism 365 aims to increase leisure visitors, enhance guest experiences and extend people’s stay in the UAE’s capital. The new company consists of Capital Experience, a high-quality destination management company, and Capital Travel, a premium travel operator.
Adnec continued its growth with the acquisition of the Etihad Airport Services Catering and Etihad Holidays. Etihad Airport Services Catering united with Adnec’s catering arm Capital Hospitality, while Etihad Holidays joined Adnec’s tourism promotion business, Tourism 365 – further augmenting Adnec’s long-term investment strategy.
The acquisition of the companies is part of the Company’s strategic efforts to boost the UAE’s tourism sectors, given Adnec’s extensive experience and capabilities across both the hospitality and tourism industry.
Throughout the year, Adnec acquired many new assets including hotels and new business units. The Company also launched a strategic and comprehensive plan for expansion at both the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre and ExCeL London in 2021, boosting its leading regional and global position as a strategic enabler of the business tourism sector.
Development operations, which are scheduled to begin this year, include building a specialised exhibition hall at Adnec Marina on the waterfront of Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. The hall will be the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa region and boast an overall area of 10,000sqm.
The year saw a 12 per cent increase in overall area for indoor exhibitions at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre to 92,000sqm and a 25 per cent increase in area at ExCeL London to 25,000sq m.
The ExCeL London centre, which is owned by Adnec, has acquired the approval of the Newham London Borough Council for the schematics for the third stage expansion of its facilities. The expansion involves adding 25,000 sq m of luxurious space for exhibitions, establishing new halls for meetings and conferences, rest areas, and several services facilities for restaurants, which will increase the centre’s overall space by 25 per cent, thereby allowing it to preserve its global competitiveness as a preferred destination for leading international events.
Upon completion, the third stage of expanding ExCeL London will provide around 115 new jobs, 50 per cent of which will be allocated to locals in affirmation of Adnec’s commitment to supporting local communities.
Adnec further added to its portfolio of hotels with the addition of Anantara Sir Bani Yas Island Abu Dhabi Resort and Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara and DoubleTree by Hilton London ExCeL.
This brought Adnec’s total portfolio of hotels to six, and came in line with Adnec’s long-term investment strategy of business diversification and has contributed to achieving optimal integration of its assets through various economic sectors. The decision also further supported the UAE and UK business and leisure tourism sectors, bolstering the sustainable development of the local communities around the properties.
The Company also revealed that it supported the creation of job opportunities with a steady increase of staff numbers attributed to its numerous expansions in the leisure tourism, its related functions, in addition to the catering and hospitality sectors. Due to growth in its leisure tourism-related activities and new acquisitions, Adnec is now present in new locations and markets.
Adnec is committed to developing national talents and attracting them with a 72 per cent localisation ratio and 87 per cent localisation of leadership positions, which saw an 87 per cent employee satisfaction rate along with a 90 per cent result in achieving the highest level of client satisfaction in the sector on the global level.
In 2021, Adnec organised and hosted a wide range of events across its centres in the UAE and the UK, including 174 exhibitions, conferences and special events. These comprised 76 exhibitions, 76 conferences and 22 special events.
The company also announced the launch of the first edition of the Global Media Congress, to be held in Abu Dhabi in 2022, in strategic partnership with the Emirates News Agency (WAM).
The event will be an exceptional platform for the media sector and will include a media conference and an exhibition, which will enable various media organisations to discuss partnership and cooperation agreements aimed at developing their messages that will serve humanity and support communities through providing useful and credible content.
2021 also saw Adnec receive nine prestigious international awards, further showcasing the Company’s proven efforts in excellence and innovation and highlighting important work around sustainable development and innovative projects. These wins are another milestone that strengthens Adnec’s global position.
