As part of Dubai’s D33 agenda to double its GDP in less than a decade, the city is laying serious groundwork to dominate the global MICE stage. Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/lara-sh
As part of Dubai’s D33 agenda to double its GDP in less than a decade, Dubai Business Events
(DBE), as the city’s official convention bureau, supporting the city’s growing
business events ecosystem under the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, is
leaving no stone unturned in its efforts to ramp up business.
One figure demonstrates just how active the agency has been: DBE has secured 437 bids to host international events in 2024, or on average more than a bid a day for every day of the year, set to take place in the coming years.
Expanding infrastructure and interconnectivity
The Dubai World Trade Centre, the emirate’s leading exhibition and convention venue, boasts over 200,000 sqm of purpose-built infrastructure for large-scale events. Aware that the Dubai city centre site is rapidly approaching capacity, a 10 billion AED (US$2.72 billion) expansion plan for the Dubai Exhibition Centre at Expo City Dubai has been approved to meet this demand and grow the city's MICE sector.
Located some 40 km southwest of the city centre but directly connected by Dubai Metro’s Red Line, the new facilities will allow Dubai to host events separately on each site, but also to run emirate-wide mega shows in more than one venue. The Dubai Exhibition Centre is part of the new urban development known as Dubai South that includes the Al-Maktoum International Airport, where Emirates will move its hub when the newer airport is fully operational.
Related: Dubai goes big with $2.7 billion Expo City expansion
It is also located within Expo City Dubai, the site of the Expo 2020 that Dubai hosted. Some of the other structures within Expo City, like the Women’s Pavilion and the Sustainability Pavilion, have been left largely intact and have been repurposed as events facilities with auditoriums, meeting rooms and rooftop spaces. Iconic monuments of the Expo like the spinning observation tower Garden in the Sky have also been preserved.
Other venues have been repurposed or made way for offices, residences, hotels and retail spaces designed to support the entire development.
MICE revenue from the Dubai Exhibition Centre and nearby developments is expected to contribute 54 billion AED (US$14.7 billion) to the economy by 2033. As of 2023, the MICE industry in Dubai was valued at just US$5.21 billion, but projections for the whole sector are a stunning US$144.2 billion by 2033.
Innovation for the future
Growth will come from multiple sectors. Just one example: Dubai is also leveraging its role as a centre for learning and development. Permanent institutions like the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center attract groups from around the world. Events such as the 2025 World Congress of Neurosurgery and the 2026 Global Symposium on Health System Research are just a few examples of high-profile gatherings that benefit from Dubai’s position as a hub for knowledge and research.
But there is more than research and academics. “Our focus spans multiple sectors, including healthcare, financial services, and technology,” says Karina Lance, associate vice president at Dubai Business Events. “We’re also prioritising industries like hospitality, consumer goods, manufacturing, and construction.”
Megashows are another key to the exponential growth Dubai is planning for. “The core strategy of hosting mega-events that attract the global business community fosters opportunities for networking, growth, and innovation,” Lance adds.
Related: Dubai secures record-breaking number of events
Their efforts are already paying off. Some of the key events already on the books include Amway ESAN 2025, The Web Conference 2026, XIII FIP Polo World Championship 2026, International Trademark Association's Annual Meeting 2026, World Congress on Medical Informatics 2027, ISAPS Olympiad World Congress 2027, World Annual Conference 2025, Global Symposium on Health Research System 2026, Forever Living Products Global Rally 2026, Scientific Assembly and Associated Events of the Committee on Space Research 2028, ICCV - 2029 - International Conference on Computer Vision 2029.