2021 November December Marina World

IWMC: DUBAI
Marinas empowering
tourism and economies
The ICOMIA World Marinas Conference (IWMC) took place at the Address
Dubai Marina, Dubai 12 th -14 th October. Despite the current COVID-19 travel
restrictions, the event was truly global – attracting over 200 delegates from 24
countries. Oscar Siches* reports
Everybody involved was nervous.
All of the international members of
the organising committee felt a heavy
responsibility on their shoulders
having decided to move forward
and take the calculated risk to make
the conference happen – live. The
last month (September) was nervewracking
as people in certain parts
of the world were still banned from
travel, much needed sponsors failed
to show up, registered delegates were
too few, and previously confirmed
speakers apologised for cancelling their
participation.
I have never known of more work
behind the scenes for an IWMC event
since my baptism at IWMC Oostende
in 2008. But it was a tacit shared
certainty that only persistence and
team work could make it happen – if it
happened. Three industry bodies were
involved and responsible for the feat –
ICOMIA, P&O Marinas and the Leisure
Marine Association MENA; the new
local marina association that planted
seeds in 2008 and worked solidly and
admirably for years so as to become
official in 2020.
Ready for action
We all arrived in Dubai. The science
fiction-style buildings surrounding us
increased the feeling that we were
dwarves about to be sacrificed. But,
suddenly, we were doing some PR
while the credentials were handed out
Moderator, Sally Robertson, kept all in
timely order and didn’t let the pace of the
debates slow for “one single second”.
to delegates and speakers, and the
perspective of those rectangular tags
aligned on the table was the first real
sign that IWMC 2021 was happening.
There were eight stands in the
hall, spacious and with excellent
visibility, and the usual set-up of tables
for the coffee breaks and lunches.
The conference venue was very
comfortable, with dressed seat rows
separated enough to walk between, a
generous stage, and excellent audio
visual quality, including for the remote
participations. On the stage, a large
lounge-type seating arrangement was
ready for the interactive debates after
the sessions.
“…the perspective of those rectangular
tags aligned on the table was the first real
sign that IWMC 2021 was happening.”
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www.marinaworld.com – November/December 2021