For Dubai resident Mohammed Adnan, his yearly visit to Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) for Gitex 2025 was an expensive affair. The sales professional paid a whopping Dh400 in parking fees for staying nearly six hours at the technology exhibition.

“I arrived at DWTC at around 10 am,” he said.“I was stuck in traffic for a very long time and finally managed to get into the Mustaqbal parking. I spent around 40 minutes looking for a space, but I was not successful. Luckily, I was not charged for the time I spent in that parking. I then drove over to the One Central offices area. I found space in their underground parking at around 11am. The charges there were Dh100 for entry and Dh50 for every hour afterwards. By the time I exited after 5pm, it cost me Dh400. It was a very expensive trip indeed!”

Working in the technology industry , he said that the exhibition was an extremely important platform for him to meet his clients and form new business partnerships.“It is once a year and I am willing to absorb that cost for the returns it brings,” he said.

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“The other option I had was to take a taxi, but last year, I spent a lot of time in traffic on the way in and then had to wait several hours to get a taxi while leaving. So, this time, I decided it was better to just take my car. Unfortunately, I don't live in a place with close access to the metro," he added.

With thousands of visitors and exhibitors expected at DWTC for the event, parking rates in and around the centre rocketed during Gitex 2025 , as is usually the case during major exhibitions.

The Trade Centre parking was priced at Dh100 for entry and Dh50 for every subsequent hour, just like the One Central parking. At the Mustaqbal parking, which is located across the road from DWTC, the charges were Dh50 for entry and Dh30 for every subsequent hour. Meanwhile, Parkin activated its Code X for streetside parking around the area, charging Dh25 per hour.

Sharjah resident Anoop Nair paid Dh320 for his nine-hour stay at the exhibition. He said he weighed several options, before deciding to drive there and park at the Mustaqbal parking.“One option was to park at Jaddaf and take the metro,” he said.“I have bulky work equipment and from previous experience I know that exiting from the Jaddaf metro station would take me at least an hour. So, that was a no go. I weighed each option carefully and decided that the best was to park at DWTC.”

Anoop left his home at 5.30am to reach for the exhibition that began at 10am.“I tried to look for a street-side parking spot but that was full even as early as 6am,” he said.“Since I arrived so early, it was a breeze to find space inside Mustaqbal. I got no traffic at all, and I think it was worth paying the extra money for peace of mind and ease. I left the exhibition around 3pm, before the peak traffic started building up.”

New Dubai resident Tiara decided to drive her car to the nearest metro station and take public transport from there to save the cost and trouble of driving to DWTC. However, she forgot to factor in one thing - her forgetfulness to renew her parking ticket.

“I parked in Dubai Internet City and paid for four hours up front,” she said.“At some point during the exhibition, I got busy with work and forgot to renew my parking. When I remembered, I renewed but I had already got a fine of Dh100. So, in total, I spent more than Dh145 during the six hours I spent at the exhibition. I am just comforting myself that it is still cheaper than what I would have paid in parking at the centre itself. But tomorrow, I think I will just drive to DWTC or take a taxi to the metro station.”

Exhibition attendee Shehnaz Ahmed took a metro to the event and back to her home paying a total of Dh6.“I live near BurJuman, so I have easy access to a metro station,” she said.“I left home at around 9am and was at DWTC around 9.30am. It cost me Dh3. On the way back, I had to wait in line for a while because I left at around 6pm, during peak rush hour. However, the crowds were very well managed, and I'd much rather wait at the metro station than spend hundreds of dirhams on parking and then sit in traffic.”

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