Record 2017 Results For Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) As It Crosses 3.3mln Visitors Delivering Stellar 9% Growth

Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA) announced its 2017 results, which overshot the 3-million visitor milestone for the second consecutive year. Welcoming a record 3.3 million delegates and attendees in 2017, up 9% from the previous year, the region’s largest trade venue hosted 353 MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) and business events – a formidable 18% increase over 2016 – including 103 mega-events. The top performing events reflected strong sectoral alignment with the UAE’s economic diversification strategy that targets creation of an optimal balance between industries, ensuring sustainability and delivering new business opportunities.

The noteworthy year-on-year footfall increase has been driven by the calendar’s ability to attract high quality visitors, delegates and attendees from 185 countries – and participating exhibitors with 56,360 exhibiting companies from 154 countries. With 39,202 exhibitors from overseas markets, DWTC registered a strong 10% increase in this base over 2016 on the back of proven participant ROI for foreign firms. The 2017 results are testament to DWTC’s ability to consistently attract increased and repeat foreign participation, and is a strong endorsement of the organisation’s reputation as a world-class business catalyst, and destination by the global community. DWTC’s impressive results further reiterates the impact of its diversified content-rich calendar of MICE and business events, as it continues to grow its contribution to Dubai’s economy and positioning as an influential global business hub.

International participation also posted a steady increase, as DWTC hosted over 1.1 million foreign business travellers in 2017, representing 42% of overall participant volumes and 6% annual growth. The rise in number of international exhibiting companies and the continued concerted efforts to market Dubai’s MICE proposition in key visitation markets contributed to the rise in international business visitors to Dubai. China, Germany and Turkey made their debut in the top 10 source markets, while dominant mainstays Saudi Arabia, India, Oman, United Kingdom, Kuwait, Iran and Egypt, completed the list of top 10 business visitor markets.

“DWTC is driven by the future-focused vision of the UAE’s leadership, which has implemented the ambitious UAE Vision 2021 and UAE Centennial 2071[1] to diversify the country’s economy and develop a competitive knowledge-based society to guarantee sustainable prosperity for its citizens. The strong increase in the number of key MICE and business events reflect sectors that are strategically aligned with Dubai Plan 2021 and the goals of building an innovation-led economy that contributes to the development of the UAE and Dubai. Our strategic innovation agenda is propelled by the vision set by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to transform Dubai into a global platform for industries based on knowledge, innovation and sustainability, and is inspired by the success of the UAE’s competitiveness as it achieved top rankings in 50 global indices including the IMF’s Ease of Doing Business Report and INSEAD’s Global Innovation Index, as well as the 10X growth vision for Dubai to be 10 years ahead of other competitive cities. We are committed to future-proofing DWTC’s businesses by sourcing smart solutions and integrating smart technologies that offer safe, secure and seamless experiences, setting the gold standard in digital innovation to attract more new and repeat international business visitors to Dubai, as the city accelerates towards the 20 million tourists target by 2020,”said His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA) and Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).