DWTC to host 111 events this year

Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) expects to host 111 events this year across its two venues – Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) and Airport Expo – after registering a 22 per cent growth in venue space, a senior executive said in Dubai yesterday. The venue operator logged 106 events in 2006.

“Coming off our busiest year in 2007, DWTC is ideally positioned for another signature year, capitalising on the sustained growth in the events and exhibitions sector,” Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director-General, DWTC, said in a statement.

“This year will see the DICEC and the Airport Expo host an even higher number of leading trade events and international conferences, boosting business tourism for Dubai, as we are becoming increasingly recognised by our international stakeholders as the networking hub that provides the widest outreach to clients and partners across the region,” he said. 

Preliminary trends indicate encouraging growth prospects across DWTC businesses in 2008, with demand for the DICEC and Airport Expo venue space forecast to increase to 111 events this year, up from 106 in 2007 across exhibitions and conferences. With over 22 per cent growth in registered venue space across shows so far at DICEC, 2008 is likely to see a significant double-digit increase in average size of exhibitions, the operator said in the statement.

The bookings confirmed for this year, in January alone, are estimated to drive up visitor volumes at the DICEC, surpassing last year’s record one million-mark. The high-growth meetings sector has also seen a 50 per cent surge over 2007, with over 450 meetings on the books so far, and is expected to attract more than 60,000 delegates this year.

The majority of new shows featured in DWTC’s 2008 calendar are from high-priority industries such as travel and tourism, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, advertising and media, the statement said. The inaugural Tourism Development Projects and Investment Market (TDIM) in January generated such an unanticipated level of demand that the organisers needed to double their initial space requirement, it said.

February has already seen the first Dubai Industrial Investment and Partnership Forum, designed to strengthen UAE’s competitiveness in the manufacturing sector.

April 2008 will showcase the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Middle East conference and exhibition that will provide an exclusive convergence platform for global leaders in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.

The Aircraft Interiors Middle East, a B2B trade exhibition to service the region’s rapidly developing commercial and business aviation fleets, will held at DWTC’s Airport Expo in June. Also included in the line-up of shows that will make their debut in 2008 is the Dubai International Character and Licensing Fair that will focus on the use of cartoons in media, advertising, tourism marketing and international licensing.