Hassan Cheruppa Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – ITL World is all set to play a significant role in spurring the growing Saudi MICE (meeting, incentive, convention, and exhibition) industry, according to a senior official. “We are keen to tap the vast potential of the Kingdom's MICE market, and that is in cooperation with the Saudi Commission of Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) and local tourism firms,” said Rafeeq Mohammed, Chief Operating Officer of ITL World. ITL World is the official travel partner of the Saudi Conventions and Exhibitions Forum (SCEF), which concluded at Jeddah Hilton on Monday. Jeddah Governor Prince Mishal Bin Majed opened on Sunday evening the forum, with SCTA President Prince Sultan Bin Salman as the keynote speaker. Several prominent business leaders and senior executives from within the Kingdom and abroad attended the two-day event. Speaking to Saudi Gazette at the venue of the Forum, Mohammed said ITL World has ambitious plans to promote domestic tourism through exploring a plethora of untapped destinations, especially Islamic heritage sites across the Kingdom. “We want to have closer tie-up with SCTA in this regard. We see the Kingdom as a promising and vibrant market for our newly launched premium brands – Mice Minds, and Arabian Experiences,” he said. Spelling out the salient features of Mice Minds, Mohammed said it will provide a golden opportunity for the customers to have ‘“one stop shop” for all corporate and business requirements. “Also, we serve as facilitators by offering full-fledged destination management services, including visas, hotel reservations, meet and assist arrangements, in-resort assistance, transportation, tours, safari operations, shopping assistance and themed holidays,” he said, noting that the clients now need to rely on one service supplier instead of a number of suppliers. Zamil Kasim, ITL World's business development manager – GCC, made a presentation on “Direction toward the emergent KSA MICE market” in the first session of the Forum titled “An overview of Saudi Arabia's MICE industry.” Kasim said ITL World is strongly liaising with the local and regional tourism bodies to identify potential MICE opportunities of the major regions in the Kingdom. “ITL World has marked its presence over the years with sturdy penetration into the market to promote KSA as a MICE destination,” he said. Fariz Nayan, regional manager of ITL Word, said the tourism giant's online booking engine will be launched in the first quarter of 2014. “It will be a virtual travel agent, providing entire online travel solutions.” Launched in July 2013, Mice Minds organized its maiden event in August with a Government HR Summit in Abu Dhabi, he said. Marwa Abdul Aziz, tour consultant at ITL, said that ITL is now concentrating more on tapping the vast potential of the domestic tourism market. Prominent Indian entrepreneur and business leader Dr. Siddeek Ahmed is the Chairman & Managing Director of ITL & Eram Group of Companies. Established in 1980s in Mumbai, ITL has expanded in India and abroad.
