Another successful year of bidding for international events in Dubai
The business events sector and Dubai’s economy as a whole will benefit from another year of successful bidding activities led by Dubai Business Events (DBE), the city’s official convention bureau.
Working with public and private sector stakeholders, DBE has selected a total of 120 events for 2021 and beyond. The events, a mix of conferences, meetings and incentive travel programmes, will bring together nearly 70,000 key opinion leaders, academics, government officials and other experts to put Dubai at the centre of global discussions on the recovery of key sectors and professions, innovation and economic growth.
The strong performance achieved despite continued disruption to the global business events sector is largely due to the worldwide recognition of how Dubai has coped with the COVID-19 pandemic. Dubai has emerged as a viable and attractive alternative for many of the events held over the past 15 months and in preparation after initial plans by organisers elsewhere in the world failed to materialise.
His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, said: “Under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the city has coped with the pandemic and quickly recovered economically, which continues to be recognised by the global business community. In addition to becoming a centre of choice for businesses, associations and talent across a wide range of industries and professions, this has also led to the city becoming a preferred destination for events of all sizes.
Among the major events won in 2021 is the 27th General Conference of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) in 2025. Dubai Business Events (DBE) collaborated with ICOM UAE Office (ICOM-UAE), Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) and Dubai Municipality to win the bid to host the event. Other key events held over the past year for the association segment include the BIR World Recycling Convention and Exhibition (2022), the Asian Pediatric Nephrology Congress (2023) and the International Peritoneal Dialysis Society Congress (2024).
At the same time, corporate meeting programmes and incentive travel continue to grow, with the city hosting the McDonald’s convention in Russia in 2022, the AIA Star Convention and the Oriflame Gold Anniversary Conference.
The addition to the list comes amid a growing focus on Dubai’s business events sector, as evidenced by the creation of the Department of Economy and Tourism. One of the department’s key priorities is to host 400 global economic events annually by 2025.
Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Tourism and Commercial Marketing Corporation, said: “Business events not only attract more visitors to Dubai, but also have a significant economic impact and foster knowledge and innovation in the city. The range of association events in Dubai demonstrates the city’s ability to provide a platform for knowledge exchange and the expertise the city has in both hosting events and participating in their rich programmes. Similarly, the strong line-up of corporate and incentive travel groups coming to Dubai in the coming years is a clear indication of the attractive proposition that major companies from around the world see here.”
In 2021, Dubai Business Events has been active globally with a combination of trade missions in key target markets, participation in major industry exhibitions including IBTM World and IMEX America, and inbound familiarisation missions.
This year, DBE will conduct nine trade missions on four continents, showcasing the city in traditional strongholds such as India, Europe and China, as well as in markets where the company sees great opportunities for growth, including Israel and Latin America. Groups from around the world will also continue to host exploratory missions to explore the city, and DBE will again participate in all major trade fairs.
Dubai set to benefit from another year of successful bidding activity for global events, where #Dubai Business Events has captured a total of 120 events for the year 2021 and beyond.https://t.co/xtSN2qgmPf pic.twitter.com/5xW9MHp3EZ
— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) January 23, 2022
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