Dubai World Trade Centre shows 12% growth; exhibiting firms up 17%

Dubai - The DWTC's 27 new shows including 8 exhibitions and 19 associations and conferences, featured as new entrants within the 2015 calendar, with many of them showcasing the latest trending topics like the Digital Health & Medical Technology Conference, and Internet of Things.

 Dubai World Trade Centre, or DWTC, hosted a 2.74 million delegates and attendees in 2015, showing a 12 per cent year-on-year increase.
 DWTC also witnessed a 17 per cent increase in exhibiting companies. Last year saw 396 trade events being hosted at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) venue including 104 mega-events, delivering a total of 2.74 million MICE delegates and attendees with 53,547 exhibitors from 185 countries to Dubai.
Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Board of Dubai World Trade Centre Authority chaired the annual board meeting of the Centre. The meeting reviewed the company's 2015 performance results, and its strategic plans for future growth and portfolio expansion. Members of the Board in attendance at the session included Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Deputy Chairman; Butti Saeed Al Ghandi; Ziad Abdulla Galadari; Abdulla Mohammed Rafia; Khalifa Suhail Al Zaffin; Saoud Ibrahim Obaidalla; Abdulrahman Mohammed Rashid Al Sharid; and Helal Saeed Almarri, director general, Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA) and Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).
In his address to the board, Shaikh Hamdan, said, "Our 2015 results are not just a show of outstanding performance but more importantly, reflect the maturity of the DWTC portfolio in being able to deliver double digit growth with such consistency across its various business lines. .the DWTC business has steadily grown in number of events, venue occupancy rates, visitation quality and volumes, and in building Dubai's international attractiveness for exhibiting corporates and trade delegates."
The primary international source markets for visitors included: Saudi Arabia, India, United Kingdom, Pakistan, China, Qatar, Oman, Iran, Jordan and Egypt. These accelerating numbers are a further testament of its key positioning, both on a global scale and within a diversified and sustainable local economy that supports future growth, employment and prosperity.
"During 2015 we launched several medium-long term initiatives centered on customer experience enhancement, with technology and innovation at the heart of powering future growth opportunities for our business. Over the next 3 years, our priorities are aligned to the economic diversification focus of the UAE and Dubai, so that DWTC sustainably drives long-term returns for the MICE industry and consequently builds its contribution to our GDP," said Helal Saeed Almarri.
The DWTC's 27 new shows including 8 exhibitions and 19 associations and conferences, featured as new entrants within the 2015 calendar, with many of them showcasing the latest trending topics like the Digital Health & Medical Technology Conference, and Internet of Things. Eighty of the top tier exhibitions reaching a threshold scale of 25,000 attendees in average traffic per event during 2015, and all of DWTC's anchor mega-events uniformly experienced year-on-year growth in volumes across visitors and exhibitors, reflecting very strong confidence in growth prospects for their respective global sectors, from healthcare, security and food, to travel, technology, and construction. Notable mentions include Arab Health that saw a 5 per cent uplift over 2014 with more than 140,000 delegates; Gulfood that attracted a record 84,642 visitors from 170 countries and 4,800 exhibitors from 156 countries; the Arabian Travel Market that witnessed a 22 per cent spike in exhibitors and an unprecedented 34 per cent increase in visitor numbers; Gitex Technology Week that brought together over 146,000 industry professionals and more than 4,200 suppliers from 144 countries; and the Big 5 that delivered 3,104 exhibiting companies from 67 countries.
- abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com