JEDDAH, 20 June 2005 — The Arab Conferences Company (ARC), a dynamic new conference organizer in the Kingdom, was launched at a press conference yesterday at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry with the attendance of Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd bin Abdullah, deputy secretary general for investment and marketing at the Supreme Commission for Tourism, and Dr. Ghassan Al-Suleiman, chairman of JCCI. ARC specializes in the planning, organizing and management of conferences in Saudi Arabia with a mission to become a leading conferences organizer. It eventually aims to expand into other Gulf countries and Middle Eastern countries.
Loay Hisham Nazer, chairman of ARC, said that the company is 100 percent Saudi, an equal partnership between Nazer Group and Mohammed Al-Ayed of SACCS public relations company. “The creation of ARC stemmed out from a need to have specialized conference organizer in the Kingdom to match the increasing demand for professional conferences. It is also part of the strategic plan of the SCT to develop conference tourism,” said Nazer. “Organizing conferences not only benefits businessmen but a wide variety of sectors such as hotels, airlines, restaurants, shopping centers and many small businesses. Preliminary projections indicate the company turnover will be more than SR100 million within the next five years achieving a growth rate of 100 percent in the 2nd year and an average growth of 25-30 percent per annum subsequently,” he added.
Prince Abdulaziz said that the SCT’s role is to enable the private sector and to develop its services. “The presence of this company will contribute in filling a gap in our tourism services, the conference tourism, and such a company with clear goals and distinguished personnel is a positive addition,” said the Prince. Mohammed Al-Ayed, the managing director of ARC, said that they at the company have a profound and intrinsic belief in the potential and caliber of local capabilities. “We are committed to integrating our culture and heritage as an instrumental component of conference organization in order to reflect the richness of the Saudi and Arab market. ARC aims to develop and cultivate this dynamic industry and increase awareness of its important role in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” he added.
ARC’s 2005/2006 conference themes include a series of stimulating topics in public relations, education, women affairs, business, marketing and social affairs. The company will organize conferences, seminars and workshops depending on market needs, some of it will be its own and others organized on behalf of clients. “Our plan is to hold eight conferences in 2006 and increasing the number every year until reaching 35 conferences in 2009. According to our studies, we found that conferences provide job opportunities for part-timers or volunteers ranging in number from 10 individuals for small conferences to 100 for large conferences, so these events are also job-generating,” said Al-Ayed. The company’s first conference will be PR Forum 2005 scheduled for November under the theme “Activation and Interaction”.
Asked if ARC will be competing with the JCCI in organizing the Jeddah Economic Forum, Loay Nazer said that the company works independently of the JCCI but if JCCI wishes it to organize the JEF it would be ready. The Prince was asked about the entry visa arrangements for businessmen and others wanting to attend the conferences and he said that final mechanisms for easing issuing visas are being implemented and will be announced soon. Arab News asked the Prince about visas for women who wish to attend conferences or for tourism and the restrictions and requirements for issuing visas to women, such as the need for mahram or sponsor, and he said that new policies for visas are being introduced and will take care of all these concerns extremely soon.
As for how the company and the Kingdom would compete with conference organizing companies and other regional destinations for conferences such as Dubai, the Prince said that Saudi Arabia has a clear competitive advantage compared to other countries with the presence of Makkah and Madinah and many tourist attractions throughout the country. “The company’s activities will be an opportunity to promote tourist destinations. Our cultural identity and attractions will be an added value to the whole package,” he said.
