Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) had a record breaking year in 2013, with 2.2 million trade delegates and attendees visiting the venue for events, exhibitions and congresses.
It marked the first time the figure has crossed 2 million in a calendar year and came from 373 MICE and business events, up from 302 in the previous year. Visitors came from 153 countries, while exhibiting companies came from 130 countries.
“The strong 2013 performance is a reflection of a more stable global economy, domestic market recovery in construction and real estate, and growing consumer confidence,” said DWTC chief executive and Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing director general Helal Saeed Almarri.
“Our focus on developing stronger events within key sectors for Dubai’s economy, and growing the international attendance at events hosted in our venue, has allowed Dubai World Trade Centre to sustainably increase the value created for all stakeholders within the MICE sector – ultimately driving even greater GDP contribution.”
Among the high-profile additions to the 2013 calendar were GISEC (Gulf Information Security Expo & Conference), The Big Entertainment Show, Middle East Rail, International Cardiology Symposium and Sibos. Across all the trade events hosted in 2013, DWTC registered nearly 40% international participation.
In addition to the business events that brought in the 2.2 million participants, Dubai World Trade Centre saw 59% growth across its calendar of entertainment and live events. An increased portfolio of 54 consumer facing events drew more than 631,000 guests and included Dubai Sports World and the inaugural Dubai Music Week, both due to return in 2014.
To accommodate and support the increase in number and diversity of events, Dubai World Trade Centre also expanded its facilities last year, adding semi-permanent and niche venue capacity to the existing 98,000 square metre covered space.
Meeting events increased by 116%, mainly due to doubling of meeting room numbers to facilitate one-to-one networking, corporate launches and smaller conferences.
