030 Beachside Conferences Business on

the beach

BUSINESS ON
THE BEACH
MIME rounds up the region’s hottest beachside boardroom alternatives

THE RITZ-CARLTON,
BAHRAIN HOTEL AND SPA
The beachfront Bahrain Hotel and Spa of-
fers corporate clients a real island getaway.
The hotel’s private island lies just off
the shores of the Arabian Gulf, approxi-
mately 11km from the airport and 3km
from Bahrain’s capital city Manama.
The island is available to hire for cor-
porate bookings during the day.
If it is privacy you are looking for it is
unlikely you will find a more secluded
conference venue than this.
Though clients may feel like they are
millions of miles from civilisation — ac-
cess to wireless internet, telephone and
fax is within reach — keeping them in
contact with the outside world.
Up to 300 people can be accommo-
dated in the setup according to require-
ments. The rental fee excludes food, bev-
erages, tent, equipment or the telephone
line but these can be requested as extras,
with food and beverages being charged
separately per guest.
Out of hours, guests can take advan-
tage of the hotel’s facilities, including
chilled outdoor swimming pools, a steam
room and sauna. Alternatively they may
choose to blow off some steam in the
gym or have a game of tennis.

Tel: +973 1 758 0000

Email: comments@ritzcarlton.com
Web: www.ritzcarlton.com

MIME | OCTOBER 2008 | www.arabianbusiness.com/travel_hospitality

 031

WATCH OUT FOR…

MVM Dubai has teamed up with London-
based events agency Fortesque to launch
‘The Room’, a temporary beachside confer-
ence venue to be assembled on Jumeirah
Beach Hotel’s private coastline, overlook-
ing the Burj Al Arab. The venue will be
available for hire day and night from 23
November to 17 December and has a ca-
pacity of up to 700 people.

MÖVENPICK RESORT AND SPA DEAD SEA, JORDAN

MÖ
The luxury Resort and Spa Dead Sea may
be set at the lowest point on Earth but
meetings on the shores of its spectacular
coastline will be the high point of any
business trip.
The Mövenpick inhouse ‘Meet and
Dine’ event-management team are well-
equipped to serve the needs of corpo-
rate guests.
Your personal conference contact
will organise the essentials in the run-
up to the event, leaving you free to focus
on the details which will make the event a
memorable experience.
Overnight business travellers will feel at
home in the traditional, village-style resort,
with luxury rooms, internet access, a range
of outlets, leisure facilities and spa.
Tel: +962 5 356 1111
Email: resort.deadsea@moevenpick.com
Web: www.moevenpick-hotels.com

www.arabianbusiness.com/travel_hospitality | OCTOBER 2008 | MIME

 032 Beachside Conferences

KEMPINSKI HOTEL, AJMAN

It’s ‘Business on the Beach’ as usual at the alternative to the traditional boardroom.
Kempinski. The hotel’s 500-metre stretch of The conference and banqueting
white, sandy beach provides a stimulating team are at hand to provide
venue for meetings and conferences. technological assistance, refreshments,
ments,
The ‘Business on the Beach’ concept was and the beach venue is facilitated
launched as part of the resort’s expansion with wireless internet and standard
into the business sectors, in addition to its conference facilities.
original leisure market.
The idea has proved to be a popular one Tel: +973 1 758 0000
in the region with more and more companies Email: ajman.kempinski@kemp-aj.com
looking for a unique and innovative Web: www.ajmankempinski.com

MIME | OCTOBER 2008 | www.arabianbusiness.com/travel_hospitality


DUBAI MARINE BEACH RESORT AND SPA
The Dubai Marine Beach Resort and Spa
offers a wide range of modern business
facilities along its private, sandy beach.
The hotel provides all the standard
meeting facilities on the beach and guests
may also access the fully-equipped busi-
ness centre indoors.
When the formalities are over guests who
do not wish to leave the beach behind can
choose to sip on a cocktail at the beach bar or
wish to dine a’ la carte overlooking the sea at
one of the resort’s five restaurants.
Tel: +971 4 3461111
Email: dxbmarin@emirates.net.ae
Web: www.dxbmarine.com
033
THINKING
OUTSIDE THE BOX
MCI Dubai project manager Richard
Devadasan explains the importance
of keeping up with emerging trends
in the region’s growing industry
WHY IS THE BEACH AN ATTRACTIVE
MEETINGS VENUE?
Beach hotels are important to the meetings
industry here, both directly and indirectly. They’re
good for incentives and groups operations. The
thing about the kind of business coming to the
region is that it’s creative and fresh, and the
meetings venues should be the same. In most
instances the beach is so close to the city that it’s
the ideal location.
HAVE YOU ORGANISED ANY CORPORATE
EVENTS UTILISING THE BEACHSIDE FACILITIES?
We’ve had a quite a few large congresses in Dubai,
where we’ve put delegates up in hotels along
the Jumeirah Beach strip. We’ve also had clients
who’ve wanted us to do something ‘out of the box’.
Once we created an air-conditioned conference
marquee in the middle of the desert. That was
pretty exciting, everyone wearing suits and walking
barefoot in the sand. It’s good to be different
and one of the main things we noticed is that we
achieved full attendance.
WHAT SHOULD PLANNERS CONSIDER WHEN
ORGANISING OUTDOOR EVENTS?
Just employ best-practice techniques and consider
things that a well-travelled international client
would consider, such as fire and safety measures,
evacuation procedures and when it comes to food
there has to be strict guidelines on what you can
serve, for how long and where. All of these factors
are part of the equation.
WHY IS THE MENA A GLOBALLY
ATTRACTIVE CONFERENCE VENUE?
It all comes down to safety, security and the fact
that the region has so much to offer. What people
really appreciate is that despite being so big we’re
flexible and that keeps clients coming back. There
are no limitations in the Middle East, you never say
no. You’ve got to keep coming up with new ideas
that will keep people coming back. Everyone talks
about Dubai but the real magic of the city is that
it keeps up with the times and keeps reinventing
itself, the meetings industry needs to follow.
www.arabianbusiness.com/travel_hospitality | OCTOBER 2008 | MIME