Dubai Set To Benefit From Another Year Of Successful Bidding Activity For Global Events

Dubai's business events sector and broader economy are poised to benefit from another year of successful bidding activity led by Dubai Business Events (DBE), the city's official convention bureau.

Collaborating with stakeholders across the public and private sectors, DBE has captured 120 events for the year 2021 and beyond.

These events, a combination of conferences, meetings and incentive travel programmes, feature almost 70,000 key opinion leaders, scientists, government officials and other experts, which put Dubai at the heart of global conversations on the recovery of critical sectors and professions, innovation and economic growth.

The robust performance, achieved despite continued disruption to the global business events sector, is mainly attributable to the worldwide recognition of Dubai's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dubai provided a viable and attractive alternative for hosting many events held over the past 15 months and is now in the pipeline after organisers' original plans elsewhere could not come to fruition.

Helal Saeed Almarri, Director-General of Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism, said, "Driven by the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the city's handling of the pandemic and rapid economic recovery continue to be recognised by the global business community. In addition to seeing Dubai become a hub of choice for businesses, associations and talent across sectors and professions, the city is standing out as a preferred destination for events of all sizes. "

He added, "The past two years' experience has only served to underline the importance of in-person business events and what they can offer to organisers, participants, sponsors, exhibitors, and their wider networks. We, therefore, continue to explore all opportunities to host business events in Dubai and work with stakeholders in the city to provide meeting planners with a safe, impactful platform for knowledge sharing, networking and creating lasting legacies."

Among the significant events won in 2021 were the 27th International Council of Museums General Conference in 2025. Dubai Business Events collaborated with the UAE's chapter of ICOM (ICOM-UAE), Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and Dubai Municipality to win the bid for the event.

Other key events included the BIR World Recycling Convention & Exhibition (2022), Asian Congress in Pediatric Nephrology (2023), and the Congress of the International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis (2024).

Meanwhile, 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 additions to the pipeline come amid a growing focus on the business events sector in Dubai, underlined by the formation of the Department of Economy and Tourism. One of the key priorities for the department is to capture 400 global economic events annually by 2025.

In 2021, Dubai Business Events maintained a strong calendar of promotional activities worldwide through sales missions in key target markets, participation in major industry roadshows, including IBTM World and IMEX America, and inbound study missions.

This year, DBE will lead nine sales missions across four continents, showcasing the city in traditional strongholds such as India, Europe and China and markets where it sees strong opportunities for growth, including Israel and Latin America. Groups worldwide will also continue to be hosted on study missions to explore the city, while stakeholders at all major trade shows will once again join DBE.