Dubai World Trade Centre Catalyses Emirate’s Flourishing Events and Exhibitions Economy
The iconic venue is evolving into an integrated economic platform, anchoring Dubai's ambitious vision to elevate the events sector to AED54 billion in annual economic output by 2033
Dubai World Trade Centre stands at the vanguard of the emirate’s dynamic transformation of its events and exhibitions landscape, transcending its longstanding reputation as a premier venue to embrace a more expansive role as a comprehensive economic catalyst. This evolution reflects the sector’s extraordinary contribution to Dubai’s prosperity, with business events generating AED25.03 billion in economic output during 2025, a substantial increase from AED22.35 billion in 2024.
The Centre’s strategic expansion and repositioning is complemented by an ambitious AED10 billion development of Dubai Exhibition Centre at Expo City Dubai, marking a pivotal moment in the emirate’s commitment to hosting the world’s most significant international gatherings. The dual-venue operational model, now fully integrated for the first time in 2026, furnishes organisers with unprecedented flexibility and capacity, enabling simultaneous hosting of multiple major events across complementary facilities.
Mahir Julfar, Executive Vice President at Dubai World Trade Centre, emphasises the profound influence of business events upon the broader economy, extending benefits across aviation, transport, hospitality and professional services sectors. The Centre’s final quarter calendar encompasses more than 100 exhibitions, conferences and business events, including the prestigious Big 5 Global and GITEX Global, reinforcing Dubai’s unassailable position as the globe’s preeminent MICE destination.
The transformation of Gulfood exemplifies this momentum with remarkable clarity. The exhibition has more than doubled in scale, welcoming over 8,500 exhibitors from 195 nations, demonstrating the irresistible appeal of Dubai’s events ecosystem to international commerce and industry.
Dubai Exhibition Centre’s three-phase expansion programme represents architectural and operational sophistication at the highest order. The completed first phase has delivered 140,000 square metres of indoor exhibition space, accommodating up to 50,000 daily visitors. Upon completion of the second phase, expected capacity will extend to 160,000 square metres, whilst the final phase, scheduled for realisation by 2031, will culminate in 180,000 square metres across a 1.2-kilometre development, welcoming as many as 65,000 visitors daily and hosting more than 20 simultaneous events.
The events sector’s contribution to the broader economy proves particularly substantial when examining gross value added. Of the AED25.03 billion generated in 2025, approximately AED14.66 billion represents direct value added to Dubai’s economy, enriching local enterprises, supply chains and service industries that serve international visitors, exhibitors and participants.
This new phase of Dubai’s exhibitions and conferences economy reflects evolving measures of competitiveness. Success is no longer determined solely by exhibition space or event volume, but rather by the city’s capacity to orchestrate large-scale, concurrent international gatherings and transform participation into enduring investment, commercial spending, strategic partnerships and sustained business prospects.
The comprehensive calendar traverses artificial intelligence, technology, energy, healthcare, construction, manufacturing, sustainability, trade and tourism sectors, with major international events including WETEX, Gulfood Manufacturing and Automechanika attracting investors, decision-makers and multinational enterprises to the emirate.
Upon completion of all three expansion phases, Dubai Exhibition Centre will comprise world-class infrastructure supporting emerging economic frontiers, from artificial intelligence and the digital economy to clean energy and advanced manufacturing, further solidifying Dubai’s pre-eminent standing as a global business and MICE tourism destination.
Source: Emirates News Agency