Rebuilding a Stronger and More Sustainable Exhibitions Sector
In the fifth episode, we dive into how we can rebuild a stronger and more sustainable exhibition sector with Roula Jouny, CEO of Tourism 365.
In the fifth episode, we dive into how we can rebuild a stronger and more sustainable exhibition sector with Roula Jouny, CEO of Tourism 365.
In our Backstage Leadership Conversations podcast series, in collaboration with Abu Dhabi's Culture and Tourism Department, we explore the post-pandemic trends in business travel, focusing on key areas such as technology, impact, sustainability and recovery. Learn how Abu Dhabi is helping the MICE sector to thrive.
For this series, we went backstage at Abu Dhabi Business Events Week and had engaging discussions with a range of interesting leaders from across the sector to understand more about the shifts and trends they have witnessed in their work. We heard a range of different perspectives and talked about how everybody can collectively come together to reinforce Abu Dhabi's very competitive positioning and continue to help the MICE sector thrive as a more competitive, exciting and innovative industry as we come out of the pandemic.
In the fifth episode, we dive into how we can rebuild a stronger and more sustainable exhibition sector with Roula Jouny, CEO of Tourism 365. Tourism 365 aims to lead the efforts in promoting tourism and facilitating the growth of the tourism industry in Abu Dhabi and is playing a crucial role in helping to increase the number of visitors to the Emirate. Its mission is to create a more sustainable, vibrant and financially attractive tourism sector in Abu Dhabi by building a portfolio of businesses that promote tourism and facilitate growth of the entire industry.
As the company's Chief Executive Officer, Roula brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience in the travel, tourism and hospitality sector. She's a dynamic, driven and results-oriented leader who successfully spearheaded the launch of Tourism 365 in 2021. Since then, she has gone on to oversee the overall development of the organisation and its brands - Capital Travel and Capital Experience - into formidable leaders in the outbound and inbound tourism sectors.
The last two years have been defined by a lot of challenges for the whole tourism industry. I started out by asking Roula about some of the interesting developments that she's seen as we now move out of recovery towards a pretty strong and promising future.
It's been very challenging and it's been more challenging for Abu Dhabi than other destinations, especially as we've had more restrictions than other destinations. However, we are seeing a very good pace of recovery. Europe has had what they call the 'hungry travellers' this summer.
We have also been witnessing a change in customer behaviours when it comes to looking for destinations. When it comes to seeking flexibility, for example, in terms of cancellation, people are still mindful that things could happen that means they have to cancel. We have been demanded to accommodate a lot of the customers' requests for being very flexible with the cancellation and the payment mode before travelling. We're seeing the business and the industry shifting into new measures, which are all in favour of the client.
There's been some big changes and it's been a lot of work to meet these new expectations. One of the other developments we've seen is sustainability. I asked Roula to tell us a little bit more about both the demand for this and what the supply side looks like.
In this part of the world, we're still a greenfield and I think there is a lot for us to do. However, we have to see that the whole industry - even Abu Dhabi specifically - is engaged today with the subject of sustainability. If we look at Etihad, they have a massive programme in sustainability. We as ADNEC Group have the first desert hotel, which will be going completely plastic-free because we see there is a demand today and people are concerned about the environment. I think all this helps attract more travellers to our destination if we really engage with sustainability on all levels, including social and environmental aspects. I think there is huge demand and we need to accommodate it.
Taking the MICE sector as a key example, I wanted to explore where Roula sees opportunities to apply innovation and to rethink the entire model around MICE so that we can incorporate sustainability into the heart of it.
MICE business is now going through a very good phase of recovery, even though at the beginning we thought that it was going to take a lot of time for the business to come back after people got so used to having online meetings. We're seeing a very speedy recovery. However, we now need to have an added value to this sector and to create programmes.
People are probably not going to have the chance with the inflation that is happening to travel like they did before. We need to make sure that if people are travelling for MICE, we give them a better experience and try to also include an exhibition or conference and add a lot more elements in any business visit. We also need to address sustainability when we think of these events because this will definitely help us create a long-term business.
It's clear that there is an opportunity to address this, whilst at the same time meeting people's expectations as visitors, delegates or consumers, by providing a richer and more meaningful experience.
We need to work on very good and thoughtful itineraries. We need to make sure that we are offering travellers the option to stay a couple of days in the destination to enjoy it. Probably there would be fewer trips planned by the customers. People will want to take the opportunity to benefit from having a few days to discover their destination because airline prices also are becoming very high. It's very important to start creating interesting itineraries around the business traveller.
I thought this was a really interesting concept, mainly as with the different situations we face today, everyone will face the same challenges when we consider issues like inflation. It's also important to be aware that the business travel market actually represents an opportunity to provide that leisure opportunity.
Today, we are seeing a big shift when it comes to post-Covid for the home office and the remote working that creates. If people will stay once the airline ticket has been paid - which today represents 50 to 60% of any trip - it's good for people to extend their stay for a few more days in the destination, whether they do it purely for leisure or while working remotely. We are also seeing this trend with ADNEC being a very big venue hosting a lot of events. We are seeing more people attached to having pre- or post-event stays in the destination. Our job as a DMC is to make sure that we are creating those experiences for clients.
We are also focusing on having companion programmes, where if you're flying to a destination you can bring your partner with you. You attend your conference for the day and we're creating itineraries for the spouses or the partners to make sure they can also see the destination. It's good because the hotel room has already been bought, so why not bring my partner and just buy another airline ticket and then have a nice experience after the event.
Talking with Roula, it's clear that despite the challenges that we are facing as an industry globally, there are real opportunities to see what the business sector can really bring to the leisure sector. This, in her opinion, is about opportunities and how we might think about the combination between both the business and leisure sectors and how we might be able to create the right mechanisms that help them to thrive together.
I can list hundreds, but the good thing is we are developing them. We work with all the stakeholders - the airlines, the tourism authority, the attractions - and we are able to draw some interesting itineraries. People will think it's their chance to travel on a business trip which has already been paid for and make the most out of their trip by inviting their partner since half of the expenses would already be covered.
As Roula mentioned, collaboration and the importance of working with different partners to have a well-connected industry is crucial. I asked her how we can translate this into the incredible experiences which her and her team are responsible for putting on.
As a small example, I received the other day an email saying that the fish market in Abu Dhabi has opened. Immediately, I emailed our colleagues and said we really want to create an experience about this fish market and asked them to go talk to the people there. We created and incorporated a lunch at the fish market in our city tour. It is all about working together as a team.
We have something called Team Abu Dhabi that involves all the stakeholders that can put together an itinerary that makes it interesting, attractive and competitive. Working alone doesn't work post-pandemic and we need to give an extra edge, which is always going to come from working together as a team with all the stakeholders.
When we talk about sustainability, this is often closely connected with the authenticity of experiences. I mentioned this to Roula and she added the following.
It's important to provide a social contribution for everyone. For example, we're talking about the fishermen in the fish market and the small shop owners, and we're creating very unique experiences that people are probably used to in other parts of the world, but here it comes with the real taste of authenticity.
Based on our conversation, I thought it would be interesting to talk about the ambitious goals that Abu Dhabi has established to continue to grow and become the leading MICE destination globally. I asked Roula for her opinion about Abu Dhabi's unique competitive positioning when thinking about the product offer.
I think the destination has all the elements to be successful in this field. We have great hotels, and at the same time, the experiences themselves are still very authentic. When you come to Abu Dhabi you interact with the local community and this is something you need to create. When PCOs and associations choose the destination to host their event, they first choose the destination and then they choose the venue. Abu Dhabi as a destination today has all the elements for us to succeed in this field. The combination of firstly what the destination offers from culture and heritage and with well-designed venues and hotels, together with the interaction with the local community is what makes the destination outstanding.
From my conversation with Roula, I was able to dive into a number of key topics, including the many changes that we're seeing and observing across the industry right now, in particular how sustainability is increasingly transforming the offer. We also looked at how we can maximise the potential of the destination through collaboration and how we can connect different businesses across the supply chain and the wider value chain to create a thriving business and leisure travel sector to exploit the opportunities of bringing these closer together.
Businesses in the MICE sector have seen a speedy recovery. However, the need to add value is stronger than ever. For business travellers, the value proposition is centred around giving visitors a better experience by creating interesting and unique itineraries and companion programmes, where those travelling with their partner or friends can see the advantage of an extended visit and a richer destination experience beyond the primary business motivation for travelling.
Here are some additional takeaways:
To succeed in the competitive MICE sector requires more than just a strong product offer. It depends on the collaborative efforts of the sector to work together in building layers that go beyond standalone events and create depth to the overall experience. This means connecting the MICE offer with the wider destination offers, considering culture and heritage, the interconnectivity of infrastructure, and especially an industry working together with people in the destination, reinforcing brand values, with welcoming locals becoming the best ambassadors.
In our Backstage Leadership Conversations podcast series, in collaboration with Abu Dhabi's Culture and Tourism Department, we explore the post-pandemic trends in business travel, focusing on key areas such as technology, impact, sustainability and recovery. Learn how Abu Dhabi is helping the MICE sector to thrive.
For this series, we went backstage at Abu Dhabi Business Events Week and had engaging discussions with a range of interesting leaders from across the sector to understand more about the shifts and trends they have witnessed in their work. We heard a range of different perspectives and talked about how everybody can collectively come together to reinforce Abu Dhabi's very competitive positioning and continue to help the MICE sector thrive as a more competitive, exciting and innovative industry as we come out of the pandemic.
In the fifth episode, we dive into how we can rebuild a stronger and more sustainable exhibition sector with Roula Jouny, CEO of Tourism 365. Tourism 365 aims to lead the efforts in promoting tourism and facilitating the growth of the tourism industry in Abu Dhabi and is playing a crucial role in helping to increase the number of visitors to the Emirate. Its mission is to create a more sustainable, vibrant and financially attractive tourism sector in Abu Dhabi by building a portfolio of businesses that promote tourism and facilitate growth of the entire industry.
As the company's Chief Executive Officer, Roula brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience in the travel, tourism and hospitality sector. She's a dynamic, driven and results-oriented leader who successfully spearheaded the launch of Tourism 365 in 2021. Since then, she has gone on to oversee the overall development of the organisation and its brands - Capital Travel and Capital Experience - into formidable leaders in the outbound and inbound tourism sectors.
The last two years have been defined by a lot of challenges for the whole tourism industry. I started out by asking Roula about some of the interesting developments that she's seen as we now move out of recovery towards a pretty strong and promising future.
It's been very challenging and it's been more challenging for Abu Dhabi than other destinations, especially as we've had more restrictions than other destinations. However, we are seeing a very good pace of recovery. Europe has had what they call the 'hungry travellers' this summer.
We have also been witnessing a change in customer behaviours when it comes to looking for destinations. When it comes to seeking flexibility, for example, in terms of cancellation, people are still mindful that things could happen that means they have to cancel. We have been demanded to accommodate a lot of the customers' requests for being very flexible with the cancellation and the payment mode before travelling. We're seeing the business and the industry shifting into new measures, which are all in favour of the client.
There's been some big changes and it's been a lot of work to meet these new expectations. One of the other developments we've seen is sustainability. I asked Roula to tell us a little bit more about both the demand for this and what the supply side looks like.
In this part of the world, we're still a greenfield and I think there is a lot for us to do. However, we have to see that the whole industry - even Abu Dhabi specifically - is engaged today with the subject of sustainability. If we look at Etihad, they have a massive programme in sustainability. We as ADNEC Group have the first desert hotel, which will be going completely plastic-free because we see there is a demand today and people are concerned about the environment. I think all this helps attract more travellers to our destination if we really engage with sustainability on all levels, including social and environmental aspects. I think there is huge demand and we need to accommodate it.
Taking the MICE sector as a key example, I wanted to explore where Roula sees opportunities to apply innovation and to rethink the entire model around MICE so that we can incorporate sustainability into the heart of it.
MICE business is now going through a very good phase of recovery, even though at the beginning we thought that it was going to take a lot of time for the business to come back after people got so used to having online meetings. We're seeing a very speedy recovery. However, we now need to have an added value to this sector and to create programmes.
People are probably not going to have the chance with the inflation that is happening to travel like they did before. We need to make sure that if people are travelling for MICE, we give them a better experience and try to also include an exhibition or conference and add a lot more elements in any business visit. We also need to address sustainability when we think of these events because this will definitely help us create a long-term business.
It's clear that there is an opportunity to address this, whilst at the same time meeting people's expectations as visitors, delegates or consumers, by providing a richer and more meaningful experience.
We need to work on very good and thoughtful itineraries. We need to make sure that we are offering travellers the option to stay a couple of days in the destination to enjoy it. Probably there would be fewer trips planned by the customers. People will want to take the opportunity to benefit from having a few days to discover their destination because airline prices also are becoming very high. It's very important to start creating interesting itineraries around the business traveller.
I thought this was a really interesting concept, mainly as with the different situations we face today, everyone will face the same challenges when we consider issues like inflation. It's also important to be aware that the business travel market actually represents an opportunity to provide that leisure opportunity.
Today, we are seeing a big shift when it comes to post-Covid for the home office and the remote working that creates. If people will stay once the airline ticket has been paid - which today represents 50 to 60% of any trip - it's good for people to extend their stay for a few more days in the destination, whether they do it purely for leisure or while working remotely. We are also seeing this trend with ADNEC being a very big venue hosting a lot of events. We are seeing more people attached to having pre- or post-event stays in the destination. Our job as a DMC is to make sure that we are creating those experiences for clients.
We are also focusing on having companion programmes, where if you're flying to a destination you can bring your partner with you. You attend your conference for the day and we're creating itineraries for the spouses or the partners to make sure they can also see the destination. It's good because the hotel room has already been bought, so why not bring my partner and just buy another airline ticket and then have a nice experience after the event.
Talking with Roula, it's clear that despite the challenges that we are facing as an industry globally, there are real opportunities to see what the business sector can really bring to the leisure sector. This, in her opinion, is about opportunities and how we might think about the combination between both the business and leisure sectors and how we might be able to create the right mechanisms that help them to thrive together.
I can list hundreds, but the good thing is we are developing them. We work with all the stakeholders - the airlines, the tourism authority, the attractions - and we are able to draw some interesting itineraries. People will think it's their chance to travel on a business trip which has already been paid for and make the most out of their trip by inviting their partner since half of the expenses would already be covered.
As Roula mentioned, collaboration and the importance of working with different partners to have a well-connected industry is crucial. I asked her how we can translate this into the incredible experiences which her and her team are responsible for putting on.
As a small example, I received the other day an email saying that the fish market in Abu Dhabi has opened. Immediately, I emailed our colleagues and said we really want to create an experience about this fish market and asked them to go talk to the people there. We created and incorporated a lunch at the fish market in our city tour. It is all about working together as a team.
We have something called Team Abu Dhabi that involves all the stakeholders that can put together an itinerary that makes it interesting, attractive and competitive. Working alone doesn't work post-pandemic and we need to give an extra edge, which is always going to come from working together as a team with all the stakeholders.
When we talk about sustainability, this is often closely connected with the authenticity of experiences. I mentioned this to Roula and she added the following.
It's important to provide a social contribution for everyone. For example, we're talking about the fishermen in the fish market and the small shop owners, and we're creating very unique experiences that people are probably used to in other parts of the world, but here it comes with the real taste of authenticity.
Based on our conversation, I thought it would be interesting to talk about the ambitious goals that Abu Dhabi has established to continue to grow and become the leading MICE destination globally. I asked Roula for her opinion about Abu Dhabi's unique competitive positioning when thinking about the product offer.
I think the destination has all the elements to be successful in this field. We have great hotels, and at the same time, the experiences themselves are still very authentic. When you come to Abu Dhabi you interact with the local community and this is something you need to create. When PCOs and associations choose the destination to host their event, they first choose the destination and then they choose the venue. Abu Dhabi as a destination today has all the elements for us to succeed in this field. The combination of firstly what the destination offers from culture and heritage and with well-designed venues and hotels, together with the interaction with the local community is what makes the destination outstanding.
From my conversation with Roula, I was able to dive into a number of key topics, including the many changes that we're seeing and observing across the industry right now, in particular how sustainability is increasingly transforming the offer. We also looked at how we can maximise the potential of the destination through collaboration and how we can connect different businesses across the supply chain and the wider value chain to create a thriving business and leisure travel sector to exploit the opportunities of bringing these closer together.
Businesses in the MICE sector have seen a speedy recovery. However, the need to add value is stronger than ever. For business travellers, the value proposition is centred around giving visitors a better experience by creating interesting and unique itineraries and companion programmes, where those travelling with their partner or friends can see the advantage of an extended visit and a richer destination experience beyond the primary business motivation for travelling.
Here are some additional takeaways:
To succeed in the competitive MICE sector requires more than just a strong product offer. It depends on the collaborative efforts of the sector to work together in building layers that go beyond standalone events and create depth to the overall experience. This means connecting the MICE offer with the wider destination offers, considering culture and heritage, the interconnectivity of infrastructure, and especially an industry working together with people in the destination, reinforcing brand values, with welcoming locals becoming the best ambassadors.
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