Dubai seeks to host 400 global economic events annually by 2025

The emirate won bids for 120 conferences, meetings and incentive travel programmes in 2021 and beyond

Dubai's handling of the pandemic and rapid economic recovery has made the city stand out as a preferred destination for events of all sizes. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

Dubai seeks to host 400 global economic events annually by 2025, after the emirate won bids for 120 events in 2021 and beyond driven by a robust economic recovery post Covid-19 induced headwinds.

These events, which are a combination of conferences, meetings and incentive travel programmes, will feature about 70,000 opinion leaders, scientists, government officials and other experts, Dubai Media Office said on Sunday.

“The city’s handling of the pandemic and rapid economic recovery continue to be recognised by the global business community,” Helal Almarri, director general of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, said.

“In addition to seeing Dubai become a hub of choice for businesses, associations and talent across a wide range of sectors and professions, this is also resulting in the city standing out as a preferred destination for events of all sizes.”

The UAE, a regional tourism and business hub, is banking on its speedy Covid-19 vaccination campaign, the hosting of the Dubai Expo world's fair in October, open borders and visa reforms to boost the number of visitors to the country.

The Emirates has, in recent months, hosted a number of large-scale in-person events, including The Big 5, Gitex, Arab Health and Arabian Travel Market.

Hotels in Dubai recorded a 16.8 per cent surge in occupancy in the first 10 months of last year as the emirate’s tourism sector continued to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The city hosted 2.85 million international overnight visitors from January to July 2021, according to Dubai Tourism.

Expo 2020 Dubai has been attracting a large number of visitors. It recorded more than 10 million visits since it started last October, according to official data.

Some of the major events that Dubai won the bid to host last year include the 27th International Council of Museums general conference in 2025, the BIR World Recycling Convention & Exhibition in 2022, Asian Congress in Paediatric Nephrology in 2023 and the Congress of the International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis in 2024, the Media Office said.

“Beyond just attracting more visitors to Dubai, business events have a significant economic impact and contribute to knowledge development and innovation in the city,” Issam Kazim, chief executive of Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said.

The city’s pipeline of corporate meetings and incentive travel programmes also continued to grow, with the addition of McDonald’s Russia Convention, AIA Star Convention and Oriflame Anniversary Gold Conference, all taking place in 2022, the Media Office said.

Dubai Business Events, the city’s official convention bureau, took out sales missions in key target markets and participated in industry roadshows last year.

This year, DBE will lead nine sales missions in traditional strongholds such as India, Europe and China, as well as markets where it sees strong opportunities for growth, including Israel and Latin America, the Media Office said.