TCA Abu Dhabi announces activation of the Emirate’s Unified Event Licensing System

Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) has announced the unified Abu Dhabi Event Licensing System, a holistic platform providing fast effective solutions for registry and licensing of all events held in Abu Dhabi, has been activated and is now fully-operational. The system which streamlines, facilitates and collates event registration and licensing procedures, incorporates a database for event type and information, category, speakers and activities, as well as indicators of tourism performance, growth orientations and of an event’s success and fulfillment of its set objectives.

Since its activation on 5 March 2017, more than 625 events have been registered, including business events like exhibitions, conferences and corporate meetings, in addition to eight religious, five sporting and two cultural leisure events. The system issues licenses within two working days, and five working days for those requiring speakers. HE Saif Saeed Ghobash, Director General of TCA Abu Dhabi, explained that the system provides a new focal point for the Abu Dhabi events sector and is aligned with TCA Abu Dhabi’s initiatives aimed at creating the solutions and infrastructure needed to support its activities and maintain the stable growth of the emirate’s tourism sector.

“The successful roll-out of the Event Licensing System reflects our commitment to the transition of adopting electronic services and strengthens Abu Dhabi’s stature as a sustainable tourism destination and a global economic hub.”

HE Ghobash further explained: “We aim to realise clear goals that revolve around unifying and boosting the speed of registry and licensing mechanisms, whether for entertainment or business events.”

The system has been adopted by all bodies responsible for staging, organising and managing events, and all Abu Dhabi event venues. This includes tourism investment areas and free zones as well as all events, conferences and symposia subject to licensing in the fields of entertainment, sport, art, culture, education, tourism, health, business and others.

TCA Abu Dhabi’s Director General stressed that organising events in Abu Dhabi has become easier through providing event planners with a single entity to process the licenses and final approvals on behalf of 22 relevant government entities.

The system is integrated with five main government entities, whose approval is required for all event types, and 17 other entities to which the event is presented according to their relevance and the event type.

The system is aimed at enhancing the service provided to stakeholders in Abu Dhabi’s tourism sector, and is in alignment with Abu Dhabi’s plan for developing a diversified sustainable knowledge-based economy.

Sultan Al Dhaheri, Acting Executive Director Tourism Sector, said: “The system is founded on the best practices adopted in international tourism destinations and works to promote the activities of Abu Dhabi’s events sector, supporting our efforts to develop a destination to attract visitors and investment. Keeping a register of all Abu Dhabi events will further promote transparency through clearly illustrating the sector’s performance indicators based on accurate information and statistics, and a unified event categorisation system will establish a database on which tourism development strategies can be built. Furthermore, it will help collaboration between public and private sectors in launching various events throughout the year.”

“The system also identifies product gaps and development opportunities, in addition to consolidating our destination’s ability to attract more event organisers by coordinating with our strategic partners,” Al Dhaheri added.

The system features innovative functionality including an electronic tickets service, which promotes the sale of tickets after the event is approved. A schedule of fees is set to be gradually implemented following the system’s launch. Additionally, organisers can promote their events through the well-established AbuDhabiEvents.ae website.

In addition to securing approvals from speakers, lecturers and trainers, the system also lists all event venues in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra with details of their specifications and capacities. The system also provides a detailed agenda of the events’ dates and location allowing organisers to set the required timeframes and identify appropriate venues to avoid duplication with other similar events.

“The Events Licensing System is a shining example of what can be achieved through mutual co-operation between the public and private sectors,” added HE Ghobash.

“Through continuous communication with our partners during the system’s development we have been able to gauge opinions and better understand their requirements. We are currently working on the implementation of the second stage through integrating additional solutions and services to provide more flexibility in the procedures for acquiring final approvals for all events.”