Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Do event companies in the UAE need to be regulated?

Do we need a regulatory body for the conferences, exhibitions and events industry in the Middle East?

Repeatedly in conversations with various professionals in these industries I've constantly been hearing complaints against the same few companies who are breaking every single law - written and ethical - in the way they do business.

These few - some who've actually been around for a long time, and some fly by night operators who have come into some capital and think 'hey lets open an events company and make some money' - are ruining the market and reputation of this industry for most of us who are actually doing the right thing, both in terms of business quality, quantity, operations and ethics.

Challenges to a regulatory authority that I can think of at the top of my head would be:
Who heads it?
How will the team comprising it be unbiased, as it would have to consist of ex or current events professionals who would obviously be linked to some events firm?
Under which government authority would they come under?
What role and influence - negative or positive - will DWTC and DICC have on this body?
What sort of penalties will be legislated and who enforces it?

Pros:
Transparency
Lack of fatigue in the market
Spam control
Quality increase

Pipe-dream?

I'd be interested to know the opinion of other event professionals.

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