28 exhibitions booked at Oman Convention Centre this year

Muscat: Hosting events that will live long in the memory for the right reasons is very important during times of austerity, said Trevor McCartney, General Manager of Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre. “As a facility, we have to ensure that we provide all of our customers with the best experience so that they will want to come visit us again,” he told the Times of Oman.
“We might have some of the best facilities in the Middle East, but we need to coordinate with those who are holding events here so that whoever we interact with will want to visit us again. "We only opened in October last year, and have had about 35 events between then and December,” he added.
“We’ve about 28 exhibition events alone booked for this year, and we’re expecting to host about 200 events in 2017, otherwise we would not be very busy.”
Because of Muscat’s location in the world and the ease with which it can be accessed from most cities around the world, the OCEC offers potential investors a great opportunity to grow their business in the region, McCartney said.
“For an international event, the destination itself matters, and if the hosts see a potential to grow themselves not just in Oman, but in the wider GCC and neighbouring areas, such as North Africa and India, for example, then it would make sense for them to choose Muscat to host their event,” he said. “There is definitely going to be competition because every major city in the world is building something like this convention centre to offer incentives to people who want to host events. Therefore, we need to have good partnerships in Oman to create an attractive package,” he added.
“We can’t operate in isolation. We’ve got support from the ministries, the hotels and suppliers to create a good quality product, and we will need that, because everyone is looking for business. “For example, we’ve currently got a health convention. About 3,000 people are coming to Oman for this event,” continued McCartney. “None of those people would be coming to Oman if not for the convention, and we’ve estimated that the average visitor spends about OMR200 on accommodation, transport, restaurant expenses and retail when they’re in Oman. That is quite a bit of money that comes into the economy and is spread all over.”
The Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre’s recent launch, said McCartney, gives it an advantage over competitors as of now.
“We can package ourselves as a new destination that offers new opportunities for associations that want to have events here,” he said.
“There are also a large number of Omanis who have event management companies of their own. A centre such as this is going to give them the chance to expand and grow in the future.”
Expansion plans are also underway at the OCEC. By the end of 2017, McCartney expects to have at his disposal 51 different meeting rooms to cater to businesses, two ballrooms for weddings and larger events, as well as a 3,200 seat theatre, in addition to the current facilities.
“Oman is a new and a safe destination, so once we get people to see Oman, they will love it,” said McCartney.