Liam and Nader, key figures in Yas Island's development, shared insights on creating a world-class MICE destination. They emphasised the importance of strategic planning, strong partnerships and a focus on both business and leisure.
In our second episode of Crafting the Experience: Behind the Scenes at Miral, we take a deep dive into the vision of Yas Island and what makes the destination stand out, speaking with Liam Findlay, CEO of Miral Destinations, about designing the ideal MICE destination, and Nader Halim, General Manager of the Hilton Cluster at Yas Island, to learn about the importance of partnerships to create a globally competitive destination.
Liam, overseeing both Yas Island and Saadiyat Island, describes a meticulous and rapid development process. Yas Island's theme park powerhouses; Warner Bros.™️ World, Yas Island Abu Dhabi, SeaWorld® Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld Yas Island, AbuDhabi and Ferrari World Yas Island, Abu Dhabi rose in quick succession, each adding a distinct thrill to the product offering. But Yas Island is more than just adrenaline rushes, a carefully planned ecosystem ensures everything is within walking distance, from hotels, restaurants and even the 18,000-seat Etihad Arena.
Yas Island doesn't stand alone. Its proximity to Saadiyat Island, renowned for its luxurious beach resorts and burgeoning cultural district, creates a dynamic duo. The Louvre Abu Dhabi anchors Saadiyat's artistic ambitions, while the upcoming teamLab Phenomena AbuDhabi, and the future Guggenheim Museum promise to solidify its cultural cachet. Buses between the two islands provide seamless connectivity, complemented by an easy journey to the centre of Abu Dhabi, offering visitors a diverse choice of experiences.
Despite being established just a decade and a half ago, Liam pins the immense growth of Yas Island on the unique opportunity to create a destination from scratch and purposely design everything with intent.
Yas Island has emerged as a Bleisure pioneer, seamlessly blending professional endeavours with exhilarating leisure experiences. This isn't just a trend; it's a strategic response to the evolving desires of time-conscious travellers, seeking to maximise their holiday time.
As someone who understands the importance of the Bleisure sector, Liam envisions this as a growing force when it comes to bringing MICE events to a destination, realising the potential of combining business trips and time with loved ones. Liam believes that the destination's ability to hold scaled events, while maintaining quality, is what makes Yas Island so unique. Liam's pride is evident, when speaking about Miral's work on the island, reiterating the reasoning behind building from the ground up with Bleisure at the forefront of design, displaying high regard for safety, connectivity and state-of-the-art facilities, which is linked to the bright future of the island.
Nader, a Hilton veteran of 20+ years, holds multiple responsibilities on Yas Island. He oversees not one, but three distinct gems: the Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island, a sprawling resort located in the heart of the promenade, a fabulous waterfront location, The WB Abu Dhabi hotel, the region’s first Warner Bros. themed hotel, and the versatile DoubleTree Yas Island Residences, catering to families and extended stays with its mix of studios and apartments. Nader shares with us the diversity of the three hotels, which he believes covers all kinds of demands.
But Nader's vision goes beyond individual hotels. He sees them as interconnected instruments, each contributing to the island's overall harmony. Similar to Liam, he emphasises connectivity as being everything, highlighting the Etihad Arena and Yas Bay, two of the most visited places in Yas Island being mere steps away from each other.
As someone who has ample experience collaborating with other businesses in Abu Dhabi, Nader emphasises collaboration with key partners, such as Miral and the Department of Culture & Tourism (DCT), to attract various events and compete on a global scale.
Both Liam and Nader speak about the benefits of Miral offering incentive schemes, which have allowed Yas Island to rival with international MICE hubs like Paris and London. Beyond excellent service, these schemes create a compelling value proposition for potential clients. DCT also plays a key role by offering additional incentive programmes, making Yas Island even more attractive for MICE events. The combined support from Miral and DCT strengthens the overall appeal of Hilton's offer and personalises the experience. Nader dials down on this, accounting for the successful development of the island, in large part thanks to the amazing teams at Miral and DCT, their partners and stakeholders on the island.
Nader also attributes a big advantage of the island's success to Miral's impactful marketing campaigns, which have been instrumental in putting the spotlight on Yas Island. Here is one of the most creative examples of marketing campaigns produced by Miral in the last few years:
Meeting with Liam and Nader enlightens the transformative power of effective partnerships in the MICE industry and the curation of a strong Bleisure proposal. Here are some key insights emerging from our conversations:
In our second episode of Crafting the Experience: Behind the Scenes at Miral, we take a deep dive into the vision of Yas Island and what makes the destination stand out, speaking with Liam Findlay, CEO of Miral Destinations, about designing the ideal MICE destination, and Nader Halim, General Manager of the Hilton Cluster at Yas Island, to learn about the importance of partnerships to create a globally competitive destination.
Liam, overseeing both Yas Island and Saadiyat Island, describes a meticulous and rapid development process. Yas Island's theme park powerhouses; Warner Bros.™️ World, Yas Island Abu Dhabi, SeaWorld® Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld Yas Island, AbuDhabi and Ferrari World Yas Island, Abu Dhabi rose in quick succession, each adding a distinct thrill to the product offering. But Yas Island is more than just adrenaline rushes, a carefully planned ecosystem ensures everything is within walking distance, from hotels, restaurants and even the 18,000-seat Etihad Arena.
Yas Island doesn't stand alone. Its proximity to Saadiyat Island, renowned for its luxurious beach resorts and burgeoning cultural district, creates a dynamic duo. The Louvre Abu Dhabi anchors Saadiyat's artistic ambitions, while the upcoming teamLab Phenomena AbuDhabi, and the future Guggenheim Museum promise to solidify its cultural cachet. Buses between the two islands provide seamless connectivity, complemented by an easy journey to the centre of Abu Dhabi, offering visitors a diverse choice of experiences.
Despite being established just a decade and a half ago, Liam pins the immense growth of Yas Island on the unique opportunity to create a destination from scratch and purposely design everything with intent.
Yas Island has emerged as a Bleisure pioneer, seamlessly blending professional endeavours with exhilarating leisure experiences. This isn't just a trend; it's a strategic response to the evolving desires of time-conscious travellers, seeking to maximise their holiday time.
As someone who understands the importance of the Bleisure sector, Liam envisions this as a growing force when it comes to bringing MICE events to a destination, realising the potential of combining business trips and time with loved ones. Liam believes that the destination's ability to hold scaled events, while maintaining quality, is what makes Yas Island so unique. Liam's pride is evident, when speaking about Miral's work on the island, reiterating the reasoning behind building from the ground up with Bleisure at the forefront of design, displaying high regard for safety, connectivity and state-of-the-art facilities, which is linked to the bright future of the island.
Nader, a Hilton veteran of 20+ years, holds multiple responsibilities on Yas Island. He oversees not one, but three distinct gems: the Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island, a sprawling resort located in the heart of the promenade, a fabulous waterfront location, The WB Abu Dhabi hotel, the region’s first Warner Bros. themed hotel, and the versatile DoubleTree Yas Island Residences, catering to families and extended stays with its mix of studios and apartments. Nader shares with us the diversity of the three hotels, which he believes covers all kinds of demands.
But Nader's vision goes beyond individual hotels. He sees them as interconnected instruments, each contributing to the island's overall harmony. Similar to Liam, he emphasises connectivity as being everything, highlighting the Etihad Arena and Yas Bay, two of the most visited places in Yas Island being mere steps away from each other.
As someone who has ample experience collaborating with other businesses in Abu Dhabi, Nader emphasises collaboration with key partners, such as Miral and the Department of Culture & Tourism (DCT), to attract various events and compete on a global scale.
Both Liam and Nader speak about the benefits of Miral offering incentive schemes, which have allowed Yas Island to rival with international MICE hubs like Paris and London. Beyond excellent service, these schemes create a compelling value proposition for potential clients. DCT also plays a key role by offering additional incentive programmes, making Yas Island even more attractive for MICE events. The combined support from Miral and DCT strengthens the overall appeal of Hilton's offer and personalises the experience. Nader dials down on this, accounting for the successful development of the island, in large part thanks to the amazing teams at Miral and DCT, their partners and stakeholders on the island.
Nader also attributes a big advantage of the island's success to Miral's impactful marketing campaigns, which have been instrumental in putting the spotlight on Yas Island. Here is one of the most creative examples of marketing campaigns produced by Miral in the last few years:
Meeting with Liam and Nader enlightens the transformative power of effective partnerships in the MICE industry and the curation of a strong Bleisure proposal. Here are some key insights emerging from our conversations:
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