Press Release Details

ADNEC revises visitor numbers as attendances soar

Publication Date: 17 Sep 2007

Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) has revealed that it expects 1.5million visitors to attend events at the new Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre during 2008; this is a massive 50% increase on initial predictions.  The revised figures also indicate that ADNEC will grow the exhibition industry in the UAE by around 33%, rather than the 25% previously predicted.

International and national event organisers have been extremely quick to stage events at ADNEC since the venue was opened by H.H Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi in February 2007.  More than 60 major exhibitions and conferences are already scheduled for next year.

Commenting on the increased numbers, ADNEC CEO Simon Horgan said:

"The emirate of Abu Dhabi and the international exhibition industry have been very quick to embrace ADNEC.  Our initial plan was to attract one million visitors by 2009 and this would have been a triumph for a brand new exhibition centre.  To now be expecting 1.5million in 2008 is an astonishing achievement which catapults ADNEC into the world’s premier league of exhibition and conference venues.  ADNEC would like to thank all involved in making this project such a success."

ADNEC recently announced that construction work has begun on both Phase 2 of the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) and the surrounding Capital Centre development. 

The AED580m (US$158m) Phase 2 project is scheduled for completion in October 2008, it will see ADNEC double in size to become the Middle East's largest purpose-built exhibition centre with inter-connected exhibition floor space totalling more than 55,000sqm. 

On completion in early 2011, the Capital Centre development which surrounds ADNEC will house a new micro-city of 23 towers, a 2.3km waterfront Marina Zone; a proposed monorail and the 'Galleria' - a shopping mall with restaurants, retail outlets, and cinemas. The most distinctive feature of the development will be the iconic 35-storey Feature Tower which will include a 200+ room five-star-plus hotel and 20,000 square metres of office and retail space.

ADNEC and Capital Centre are being developed under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company and the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA).

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About ADNEC:

The Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) is a first class MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) venue in the Middle East. ADNEC is following an expansion strategy with the aim of catalyzing the MICE industry in the UAE capital, and is developing a brand new 148,000 square metre business and leisure district termed the Capital Centre. Situated close to the Airport, the AED 8 billion Centre will house the state-of-the-art Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, an iconic 35-storeyed Feature Tower, a micro-city consisting residential, commercial and hotel accommodation, a marina and waterfront leisure zone and an existing grandstand.

For further information please contact:

Ben Collins
Marketing Manager
Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company
Tel: + 971 2 4446900
Fax: + 971 2 4446135
P.O.Box: 5546
Email: ben.collins@adnec.ae
Website: www.adnec.ae