01 cover sbi 152.indd - FIFA/CIES International University Network

INTERNATIONAL FOCUS
MIDDLE EAST
STRATEGY BEHIND THE SPEND
Matthew Glendinning looks at the broader economic and strategic aims behind
the spectacular event hosting success of the Gulf states.
THE SPORTS INDUSTRY may occasionally
feel like it rules the universe, especially when
bankers are having a bad day. But the sheer scale
of the global tourism industry puts even the
sports sector in the shade.
The United Nations states that sport accounts
for as much as three per cent of global economic
activity. Impressive enough, but the UN’s World
Tourism Organisation estimates that tourism
makes up 10 per cent of world GDP.
Small wonder that the new country or city
entrants to sports event hosting in the Middle
East see the promotion of tourism as a major
part of their brief.
At the tourism industry trade show ‘World
Travel Market’, staged at London’s Excel
Centre in November, those UN numbers were
supported by the thousands [50,000 attended in
2008] of delegates swarming the eye-catching
exhibition stands.
In the Middle East section, a falconer in
traditional Arab dress held out a hooded bird on
a gloved arm to intrigue passers-by in front of
the Egypt stand. The Abu Dhabi desk next door,
staffed, admittedly, by three London girls in
flowing golden robes, was located in front of an
artificial waterfall.
On the first floor of Abu Dhabi’s mobile
exhibition unit - the one with the waterfall -
SportBusiness caught up with Ahmed Hussein,
who heads up sports and events marketing for
the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA).
It had been a good few weeks for the
marketer. Yas Island, the $40 billion leisure and
entertainment development containing the Yas
Marina F1 track, had just been selected as the
‘World’s Leading Tourism Development Project’
by the World Travel Awards, the so-called travel
industry ‘Oscars’.
Yas Marina itself had won rave reviews for the
inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, not least from
Bernie Ecclestone who hailed the track as the
best ever. “What they’ve done is unbelievable,”
said F1’s impresario.
In a month when the UK government
baulked at a request of £5 million funding for
the England 2018 FIFA World Cup bid, the
Emirate’s spending of a minimum $400m on
Yas Marina seems from another world.
But there are sound strategic reasons for the
outlay, Hussein explains. “A world-class event
like the F1 Grand Prix was always top of our wish
list and with the right timing and hard work we
have been able to make it happen, “he said.
“The [F1] strategy comes from the
government, which always backs initiatives for
cultural heritage, economic diversity and so on.
“Awareness [of Abu Dhabi] is one of the
priorities and although an F1 Grand Prix sounds
like a one-off, from this kind of activity we can plan
a whole year of intentional motorsports events.
“Before the F1 event, for example, we had three
support races which provide the right seeds to start
promoting the track and motor sports in general:
the Chevrolet V8 Supercar Championship, the
Porsche Supercup and GP2 Asia.
“From F1 to production car racing, to more
training and track days, we’re growing a new
business very fast and in a couple of year’s time
you will see a lot more events here.”
While the event owner, Abu Dhabi
Motorsports Management, a joint venture
between the Government of Abu Dhabi and
ALDAR Properties, has yet to measure the
economic impact of the race, Hussein adds that
“the feedback from normal public access the
feedback from clippings from media and so
on has been amazing. There was a lot of work
done before and a there’s a lot of echo to come -
harvesting the results after the race.”
Ferrari World
Then, of course there is Ferrari World, the
Ferrari-branded theme park on Yas Island,
which is set to open next year. “It’s a one of a
kind,” says Hussein.
“We will create a theme park around
motorsport and Ferrari especially. After football,
motor sport is a priority in Abu Dhabi and F1
provides an opportunity for the industry to grow.
It’s a good start for motor sport in Abu Dhabi.”
If this understatement highlights the almost
fantasy quality of the Emirate’s ambitions, the
Gulf states in general are nevertheless shrewd
operators in the sports industry with an eye on
the big picture.
“To compete in [the wider] economic sense,
we need these kind of activates as a catalyst to
build more infrastructure for better growth,”
says Hussein.
Coming up on the event radar, there is the
FIFA Club World Club, hosted by Abu Dhabi at
two venues, which have been upgraded for the
event, the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium and
the Zayed Sports City.
Having hosted the AFC Asian Cup in 1996
and with plans for future events in the pipeline,
showcase football is also part of the overall
strategy. “On the tourism side, we leverage on
these kind of events which relate to the Abu
Dhabi government’s strategy and we have a lot
of big plans to get more of them,” says Hussein.
But it’s not just motorsport and football. The
Emirate’s major golf event, the Abu Dhabi Golf
Championship, leads off the so-called ‘Desert
Swing’ series at the start of the year en route to
Doha and Dubai.
So how does Abu Dhabi differentiate this
event from those of its ambitious neighbours
“Being in Abu Dhabi is the point of difference,”
says Hussein bluntly.
“There’s a different feeling here and without
comparing, we complement the region. It’s a
very healthy environment and we would wish
to have a fourth or fifth big tournament held in
the Gulf.
“The golf events are more prestigious, more
B2B, with more government involvement and
stakeholder engagement over four wonderful
days in Abu Dhabi and 12 days in the region.”
As for the longer term, the strategy will be to
keep looking at world class events and building
up infrastructure, perhaps with the intention of
bidding for the Olympic Games, as Qatar did for
the 2016 Games.
But the Abu Dhabi Sports Council is also
pursuing other avenues -creating events of its
own like the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge
and Abu Dhabi Triathlon, events that are not
shared with any governing body or organisation.
The Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge, for
example, is a multi-sports race for teams of four,
who race over six consecutive days across six
disciplines: sea kayaking, cross orienteering,
mountain biking, adventure running and rope
activities (e.g. abseiling).
The aim, says Hussein, is to spread
awareness of the Emirate’s natural assets, from
its water frontage and islands, to its sand dunes
and mountains. This year, he adds, the race will
attract 47 teams, up from 36 last year, and 25
nationalities, up from 11 last year.
Given the marketing savviness of the
interviewee, it seemed reasonable to ask one
more question about Abu Dhabi as a sports
destination. What does the national brand
represent The response was immediate.
“Respect: our brand essence is respect, you will
find more than 180 nationalities with us, and for
visitors, locals, people of any ethnicity or religion,
it’s about respect. It’s our main message.”
Coherent, strategic and high-spending,
western commentators are now anything but
dismissive of the Middle East sports programme,
in general, and Abu Dhabi’s F1, in particular.
SportBusiness International • No.152 • 12.09 67