Destination Management for Pharmaceutical Groups

Pharma Group Travel That Does Not Keep Your Compliance Team Up at Night

We manage destination programmes and incentive travel for pharmaceutical companies across the UK, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, and Jeddah. Compliant itineraries. On-the-ground delivery in both markets. One point of contact from brief to debrief.

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In-market delivery teams UK and Gulf

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Account contact for the whole programme

48hr

Proposal turnaround from brief

Both

Internal pharma teams and HCP groups

Choose a Destinations

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Dubai

Most requested

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Abu Dhabi

Luxury and culture

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Riyadh

First-mover opportunity

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AlUla

High-value small groups

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UK inbound

Gulf pharma to UK

Dubai

Dubai remains the most requested destination for pharmaceutical incentive travel from UK teams. Direct flights from all major UK airports, world-class hotel infrastructure, and a wide range of programme experiences that work for groups of 20 to 500. Our Dubai team handles ground delivery while your UK account manager runs the programme from brief to debrief. For pharma groups, we design itineraries that separate internal team experiences from any HCP-facing elements, with clear cost segregation to support your transfer of value reporting.

Burj Al Arab and Atlantis group options Desert experiences Gala dinners and group events ABPI-structured itineraries Direct UK flights

Groups from 15 to 500 people. Best months: October to April.

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi suits pharmaceutical groups looking for something more cultural and less familiar than Dubai. The Louvre Abu Dhabi, Qasr Al Watan, and Saadiyat Island offer programme experiences that feel genuinely exclusive rather than well-trodden. For smaller high-value groups, Abu Dhabi rewards planners willing to look beyond the obvious. We have active supplier relationships across the emirate and work with the Abu Dhabi Convention and Exhibition Bureau on group programmes.

Cultural heritage programme options Smaller group focus (20 to 150) Premium hotel partnerships F1 and sporting experience options

Best for groups of 20 to 150. Year-round with November to March peak.

Riyadh

Riyadh is where early-movers in pharmaceutical incentive travel are building competitive advantage right now. The infrastructure has expanded significantly under Vision 2030 and Riyadh Season brings a calendar of events and experiences that were not available three years ago. For UK pharma companies wanting to reward top performers with something genuinely different, Riyadh delivers. We have been building supplier relationships and programme experience in Riyadh since before most DMCs entered the market.

Riyadh Front Convention Centre Desert and heritage experiences Riyadh Season event options Vision 2030 showcase programmes
Best window: October to April. Outdoor programme elements should be planned within this period. We advise on timing for every Riyadh programme.

AlUla

AlUla is the most distinctive option in the Gulf right now for high-value small groups. Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, comparable in scale to Petra, was specifically designed for exclusivity. Accommodation is intentionally limited. The Maraya concert hall and desert environments offer programme experiences available nowhere else on the incentive travel circuit. For a pharmaceutical team of 30 to 100 delegates where the experience itself needs to be the reward, AlUla makes an argument no other destination can match right now.

Hegra UNESCO heritage site Maraya concert hall Desert luxury accommodation Exclusive small group experiences

Ideal for 30 to 100 delegates. Best months: November to March.

UK inbound for Gulf pharma teams

For pharmaceutical companies based in the UAE or Saudi Arabia bringing teams to the UK, Markely manages the full destination programme. London, Edinburgh, the Cotswolds, and country house hotel experiences are all programme options we manage directly. Gulf-based pharma teams attending UK medical congresses often combine conference attendance with a group destination element. We handle both under one brief.

London group programmes Country estate experiences Combined congress and incentive Arabic-speaking programme staff UK ground logistics

Groups from Gulf markets. Account management in UAE and KSA. Delivery in the UK.

Types Of Programme We Manage

Pharmaceutical Incentive Travel

Reward programmes for top-performing pharmaceutical sales and commercial teams. We design itineraries that are motivating, memorable, and structured to meet ABPI Code requirements for internal incentive programmes. Transfer of value implications are assessed for every programme element before anything is booked.

Group flights and transfers

Hotel room block management

Welcome and gala dinners

Destination experiences

Team activities and entertainment

On-site programme management

Post-programme spend reporting

Medical Congress Destination Add-ons

Pharmaceutical teams attending major UK or Gulf medical congresses often extend their trip with a destination programme for their internal team or invited HCPs. We manage the destination element alongside the congress logistics, keeping HCP-facing spend clearly separated and documented for compliance purposes.

Pre or post-congress programme design

HCP and non-HCP segregation

Compliant hospitality structuring

Congress venue transfers

Group hotel management

Pharmaceutical Sales and Field Force Conferences

National or regional sales conferences that combine a destination element with training, recognition, and team engagement. We manage the venue, accommodation, ground logistics, and programme for internal pharma events in the UK and Gulf, with a strong focus on consistent delivery at scale.

Conference venue in destination

Group accommodation management

Evening programme and gala

Recognition and awards logistics

Ground transfers and airport meet-and-greet

HCP Group Programmes

Programmes involving healthcare professionals require careful compliance structuring. Hospitality must be secondary to the educational or scientific purpose of the meeting. We design HCP group programmes that are engaging and professionally executed while meeting ABPI Code hospitality guidelines and EFPIA transfer of value reporting requirements throughout.

ABPI-structured itinerary design

Educational content integration

Compliant hospitality management

TOV spend documentation

HCP travel and accommodation

Why Markely
For Pharmaceutical Groups

1

Dual-market delivery

UK account management plus active Gulf delivery teams. No handoffs to third-party DMCs you have never met. One team, both markets.

2

Compliance from day one

We assess transfer of value implications before we book anything. ABPI Code hospitality guidelines are built into every pharma programme we design.

3

English and Arabic

For Gulf pharma teams travelling to the UK, we provide Arabic-speaking programme staff and account management in your home market time zone.

4

Clear spend reporting

Itemised cost reporting for all HCP-related spend, structured to support your compliance team’s transfer of value reporting obligations.

Compliance
Questions Answered

Can pharmaceutical companies run incentive travel programmes?

Yes. Incentive travel programmes for internal pharmaceutical sales and commercial teams are permissible under the ABPI Code, provided they reward performance and the overall programme cost is reasonable. The key distinction is between internal team programmes and programmes involving healthcare professionals. HCP programmes require educational or scientific purpose and careful compliance structuring. Markely advises on the correct structure for every programme before any bookings are made.

What counts as transfer of value in a destination programme?

Transfer of value covers any direct or indirect benefit provided to healthcare professionals, including hospitality, travel, accommodation, and registration fees at events. When a destination programme includes HCPs, every cost element that touches them, including meals, transport, accommodation, and experiences, may need to be disclosed under the EFPIA Disclosure Code. Markely provides itemised spend reports structured to support this reporting, with HCP and non-HCP costs clearly separated throughout the programme.

How does hospitality work for HCP groups in the Gulf?

UK pharmaceutical companies operating in the Gulf are still bound by the ABPI Code for their interactions with HCPs, alongside local regulatory requirements in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Hospitality for HCPs must be secondary to the purpose of the meeting in both markets. We design programmes that are appropriate to the destination while meeting UK code requirements, and we flag any programme element that may conflict with ABPI guidelines before it is included.

Frequently Asked Questions

We manage pharmaceutical destination programmes from small advisory board groups of 10 to 25 delegates through to large incentive travel programmes of 300 or more. Programme type determines the right destination and structure. We advise on both during the briefing process.

Both. We work directly with pharmaceutical commercial, medical affairs, and events teams, and we also serve as a Gulf and UK ground delivery partner for travel management companies and pharmaceutical meeting agencies that need in-market expertise they do not have themselves.

We manage the full visa and travel documentation process for UK pharmaceutical teams travelling to Saudi Arabia. UK passport holders can obtain e-visas for Saudi Arabia, but group visa management for larger programmes benefits from structured coordination. We handle this as part of the programme logistics, not as an afterthought.

Yes and we do this regularly. Gulf-based pharmaceutical teams attending UK medical congresses often combine the congress visit with a destination programme in the UK. Separately, UK pharmaceutical teams can extend a Gulf congress attendance into a broader destination experience. We manage both scenarios under one brief with clear cost separation between congress-related and destination-related spend.

For most pharmaceutical destination programmes to Dubai or Abu Dhabi, a minimum of 8 to 10 weeks lead time is recommended. For Saudi Arabia programmes, particularly those incorporating Riyadh Season events or AlUla experiences, 12 to 16 weeks allows us to secure the best availability. We can work to tighter timelines when needed and will always tell you honestly what is achievable.

Tell us about your pharmaceutical group programme

Sales incentive to Dubai. Advisory board in London. Field force conference in Riyadh. Tell us the destination, the group size, and the dates. We will come back within 48 hours.

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