City focus
Dubai’s 2025 Vision: most visited city
ubai’s Tourism Vision
2025 calls for the emirate
to become the most
visited city in the world.
The target is to attract over 23m
visitors a year by 2025.
Part of that figure will be made up
of business visitors and exhibitors
and, of course, Dubai’s hosting
Expo2020 will surely play a major
role.
The Dubai Business Events (DBE)
agency is reporting a strong start
to 2019, securing bid wins in Q1
including: EMCO Congress 2020,
Geospatial Week 2021, and AIPPI
World Intellectual Property Congress
2025.
One stakeholder sharing the big
2025 Vision is Dubai World Trade
Centre (DWTC), the largest exhibition
space in the region.
DWTC reported a year-on-year
footfall increase at its shows and
54,717 exhibiting companies from
162 countries, of which 41,147 were
foreign exhibitors (5% up on 2017).
Congresses booked at DWTC
between 2019 and 2022 are set to
deliver an estimated AED700m
(US$190m) economic boost to Dubai.
The list includes two space-themed
congresses in October and November
2019 hosted by Mohammed bin
Rashid Space Centre.
New events introduced to DWTC
in 2019 include: the Ai Everything
Summit and Prime, which aims to
connect private label suppliers, brand
licensors and contract manufacturers
with the F&B and retail industry in
the MENA region.
In addition to some major events
DWTC organises itself – including
GITEX and Gulfood – DWTC is
working with major organisers
including Informa (Arab Health,
Cityscape Global), Reed Exhibitions
(Arabian Travel Market), and dmg
events (The Big 5, The Hotel Show).
The venue’s events calendar for
2019 includes seven major exhibitions
60
Issue 3 2019
and The Arabian Travel Market
which attracts 39,000 delegates.
Mega-show GITEX Technology
Week and GITEX Future Stars, the
region’s premier technology and start-
up events, last year welcomed over
150,000 participants (4% growth year-
on-year), out of which approximately
40% were foreign visitors.
Showcasing the UAE’s progress to
a sustainable future, the 20th WETEX
and 3rd Dubai Solar Show, a regional
showcase of the latest developments
in conventional energy and
renewables, reported 2,100 exhibitors
and 35,088 visitors, a 10% increase
over 2017.
Middle East Electricity Exhibition
attracted 62,567 visitors, of which
nearly half were from international
markets.
DEC: gearing up the
global event hub for
Expo 2020
Expo 2020 has released a sneak-peak
inside the Dubai Exhibition Centre
(DEC), a modern structure that is set
to become leading host venue when
the global event opens its doors in
October 2020.
With 45,000sqm of flexible space
spread across two campuses, the DEC
will include a theatre, auditorium,
and onsite-catering facilities.
The DEC forms a key part of Expo
2020’s legacy, where it will continue
to serve District 2020, the integrated
urban development that will
repurpose more than 80% of Expo’s
built environment.
Ahmed Al Khatib, Chief Delivery
Officer, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “The
impact of such a unique space will
stretch well beyond the six months of
the Expo, boosting the region’s events
industry… and fuelling growth in
Dubai’s knowledge-based economy
for many years to come.”
The DEC will be in close proximity
to Al Maktoum International Airport.
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first
World Expo in the Middle East, Africa
and South Asia (MEASA) region.
With 25m visits expected between 20
October, 2020 and 10 April, 2021.
Expo 2020 also has an ambitious
volunteer programme, which aims to
include more than 30,000 volunteers.
The Expo site covers a total of 4.38
sqkm.
First World
Expo
In 1851 the
Crystal Palace
was the
centrepiece of
London’s Great
Exhibition
– the first
World Expo.
It celebrated
the man-made
industrial
wonders of
a rapidly
changing
world.
In more
recent years,
participants in
World Expos,
including
governments,
international
organisations
and companies,
have gathered
to find
solutions to
universal
challenges
and to
promote their
achievements,
products, ideas,
innovations,
their national
brand, and
their nations
as destinations
for tourism,
trade and
investment.
World Expos
are held under
the auspices
of the Bureau
International
des Expositions
(BIE).
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk