Adnec group announced on Wednesday (February 7) that the direct and indirect economic contributions of the group's seven business sectors to the economy of Abu Dhabi and the UAE in general doubled to AED7.37 billion ($2.01 billion) in 2023, an increase of 107% compared to AED3.56 billion in 2022.

 

The contribution is the largest in the group's history since its establishment in 2005. 

 

Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, Managing Director and CEO of Adnec Group, said: "These record achievements came in line with the group's commitment to develop and innovate solutions and initiatives aimed at accelerating performance growth rates and seizing investment opportunities in its seven business sectors, and working closely to achieve added value for all its shareholders and partners in the government and private sectors, in order to emphasise the position of the emirate of Abu Dhabi as the capital of the business and leisure tourism sectors in the region.” 

 

Al Dhaheri pointed out that these successes would not have been achieved without the great and unlimited support of the wise leadership, through continuing efforts to achieve the desired economic diversification while continuing to promote the concepts and standards of sustainability in all economic and knowledge fields, through its business units, which contributed to advancing the economic development of the emirate of Abu Dhabi in the sectors of business tourism, which is one of the most prominent sectors on which the future development plans of the non-oil sectors in the country focus. 

In 2023, Adnec group sought to confirm its new corporate identity in a move aimed at enhancing the presence of the group's seven main business sectors, including exhibition and conference centres, event organisation, Hospitality, Food, Event Services, Hotels, Leisure Tourism and Media, as it sought to expand both in terms of business scope and geographical presence. 

 

Under the umbrella of the Adnec group, there are more than 30 brands that work harmoniously in seven key sectors and business areas. 

 

The year 2023 witnessed the group's business sectors winning 21 prestigious international awards in various programmes and activities that they are responsible for implementing. 

 

Exhibition and conference centres 

The Adnec Group owns and operates three prominent international venues, including the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Al Ain Convention Centre, as well as the ExCeL London exhibition and Convention Centre in the UK. 

 

The exhibition centres achieved a significant increase in the number of visitors to the events hosted by the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition and Al Ain Convention Centres by 123% compared to 2022, with the number of visitors reaching about 1.78 million visitors compared to about 802,000 visitors in 2022. 

For the first time in the group's history, since its establishment in 2005, the number of events doubled in one year to more than 476 events, and the number of events hosted by the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre and Al Ain Convention Centre increased last year by almost 100% compared to 238 events in 2022. 

 

For the first time, Adnec also hosted meetings of nine international federations and organisations, won nine international tenders to host major international conferences, and nine new exhibitions are added to its annual events agenda, some of which are being held for the first time in the emirate of Abu Dhabi and the Middle East region.

 

The Adnec group revealed its support for the creation of many new job opportunities in the relevant sectors, reaching 51,400,000 jobs, an increase of 145% over the year 2022, which amounted to 21,000 jobs in the supporting sectors. 

 

In 2023, ExCeL London Exhibition Centre hosted more than 300 events, including 15 events held for the first time, and the list of events at the venue included the Formula E electric car world championship and the Olympia London International Horse Show، Other international events and exhibitions, attracted more than 3.5 million visitors from different countries. 

 

Meanwhile, Adnec group continued the development work of Excel London Exhibition Centre, a wholly owned subsidiary, where the expansion works include the addition of 25,000 sq m of exhibition space, the development of new meeting and conference halls in addition to service facilities distributed over three floors. 

 

At the same time, the group continued the development and modernisation programmes of the facilities of the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, rehabilitating and expanding the grandstand area opposite the centre, which increased the outdoor spaces while providing a wide range of logistics services for the infrastructure of the exhibition stands. 

 

Adnec events management 

The group's second business segment includes Adnec Events Management, which organises high-profile events at the local and international levels, by the capital events company of the group, which organises nine international exhibitions directly, namely: the International Defence Exhibition and conference (IDEX), the Maritime Defence Exhibition (NAVDEX), the Unmanned Systems Exhibition (UMEX), simulation and training (SimTEX), the International Exhibition for National Security and Resilience (ISNR) the World Media Congress, the Abu Dhabi International Boat Show, the Abu Dhabi International Food Exhibition, as well as the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition, which recently joined under the umbrella of the group. 

 

Capital Events company, in cooperation with a group of partners in the government and private sectors, organised five major events in 2023 that attracted thousands of visitors and exhibitors from five continents of the world. 

 

Adnec group, in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence, organised the largest session in the history of IDEX and NAVDEX 2023 exhibitions and their accompanying conference from February 20 to 24, 2023, and the number of visitors reached more than 132,000 visitors, an increase of 114% compared to the 2021 session. 

 

Hotels

Adnec Hotels owns seven prestigious international hotels, namely Aloft London ExCeL, DoubleTree by Hilton, Aloft ExCeL London Hotel, Aloft Abu Dhabi Hotel, Andaz Capital Gate Abu Dhabi, Anantara Sir Bani Yas Island Abu Dhabi, Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort, managed by Anantara, in addition to the Reykjavik Hotel in Iceland. 

 

This is in addition to acquiring a share in hotels such as Shangri-La Bari Village, Fairmont Bab al Bahr, Park Rotana Abu Dhabi, as well as Traders Hotel, Bari Village. 

 

Adnec Group, in cooperation with the ADQ, recently announced the acquisition of 40% of Talaat Mustafa's Icon Group, which includes 15 luxury and heritage hotel assets in Egypt. 

 

The group is currently examining the hotel sector to meet the requirements of tourists and business travellers alike by providing exceptional experiences, in addition to its strategic locations and exclusive specialised services with a total of 2,000 hotel rooms. In 2023, the group's hotels received more than 681,000 visitors. 

 

Hospitality and Food 

The group’s Capital Catering + Services provides hospitality and catering services throughout the UAE, as well as operating Etihad Catering Services.  During the past year, it provided more than 27 million meals for more than 1,600 events, and also provided services to 13 airlines operating through Abu Dhabi International Airport, in addition to the services provided to eight hospitals operating in Abu Dhabi. 

 

It also provided specialised catering services to more than 60 private airlines chartered by VIPs. The capital council was re-launched during the last Ramadan to receive more than 20,000 visitors during the holy month, and a memorandum of cooperation was signed with Naama company to prevent food waste in line with the government initiative. 

 

Services and Events 

Adnec Services provides a wide range of customised solutions, including design, audio-visual production, pavilion construction, master contracting, printing, graphics and photography for the event industry. 

 

During the year 2023, the company oversaw the organisation of 488 events and events, in addition to the geographical expansion into the main markets in the region, and the start of projects in more than eight global locations, followed by an increase in market share by promoting the sustainable growth of the exhibition sector. 

 

Tourism 

The tourism sector plays a leading role in promoting the emirate of Abu Dhabi as a vibrant tourist destination, offering personalised travel experiences as well as organising special events, enriching the cultural offerings of the city. 

 

The year 2023 witnessed the announcement of the acquisition of Karavel, the French tourism group that is one of the most prominent pillars of the tourism sector in Europe. The acquisition was to enhance the group's presence in Europe’s target markets, most notably France, to provide quality service packages in the areas of travel, holiday trips and cruise ships in Europe and the Middle East and North Africa, through the Karavel’s online network and its offices located in France. 

With this acquisition, the group has strengthened its presence in a wide range of target markets globally, through its offices in Britain, France, Germany and Jordan. 

 

In the same year, 365 Tours launched the first daily charter flights for the first time ever from three German cities to Abu Dhabi in the last quarter of 2023. 

 

The percentage of hotel bookings also increased by more than 270% to 170,000 hotel nights in 2023 compared to 46,000 hotel nights in 2022 nationwide.

 

It has also established a strategic partnership with COP28 to provide a wide range of services and has also been awarded the best travel agency by Etihad Aviation Group. 

 

In addition, the company organised more than 115 cruise trips during 2023 compared to 83 in 2022, an increase of 39%, and was able to increase the average stay of tourists by three times to six nights compared to only two nights in 2022. 

 

Media 

Through TwoFour54, the group is responsible for creating a sustainable media and entertainment system that provides comprehensive content creation services while supporting a wide variety of local and international media productions. 

 

2023 saw the announcement of the company's plans to open two new destinations designed to accommodate and serve the specialised creative communities in Abu Dhabi, which are scheduled to be launched over the next three years, providing the largest network of studio facilities in the UAE. 

 

The new destination will feature two soundstages, each measuring 700 sq m and 14 m high, with several indoor support facilities, including waiting rooms and dedicated areas for clothes and makeup. 

Progress is also continuing on the development of the upcoming second phase of the Creative Zone - YAS, which will welcome additional numbers of media and entertainment organisations and content industry pioneers to Yas Island in 2026. 

 

Twofour54 will provide an integrated facility that includes a ground floor, seven floors, underground parking, as well as office, retail and other food and beverage outlets, making up a total construction area of 92,500 sq m. 

 

These initiatives are in addition to the company's plans to establish twofour54 Studios, an integrated film production destination in Abu Dhabi scheduled to open in 2025.  – TradeArabia News Service