DWTC Hosts Over 400 Events In 2025, Records 3 Million Attendees

2026-04-07 11:16:53

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Dubai's leading exhibition and events center saw 2.97 million attendees in 2025, a 12 per cent jump year-on-year, thanks to events that spanned across varying industries.

The Dubai World Trade Centre, which is set across two venues – the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) near Sheikh Zayed Road and the Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC) at Expo City, hosted 401 events in 2025, up 6 per cent annually.

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The exhibition centre saw an uptick in Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) events, hosting around 134 in 2025, which brought in 2.19 million visitors, an 8 per cent year-on-year increase.

International participants accounted for almost half of MICE attendees (43 per cent), in total bringing in around 951,000 international participants.
Companies which exhibited during these MICE events reached over 63,000, up 8 per cent year-on-year, 78 per cent of which were international.

The top performing industry sector was the healthcare and medical sector at 23 events and 436,000 participants, followed by ICT, electronics, and emerging technology sector with 11 events and 341,000 participants. Other industries which saw fruitful results were food and beverage, consumer goods and retail, construction, beauty and wellness, energy and environment, automotive, travel and tourism, sports and fitness.

DWTC hosted 25 conferences in 2025, attracting 62,000 participants, including 11 new conferences that contributed 12,000 attendees. Key conferences included Arab Media Summit, Affiliate World Dubai, HR Summit & Expo, Dubai International Food Safety Conference & Applied Nutrition, and AWS Summit Dubai.

Fourteen international association meetings welcomed 29,000 participants, with most representing new or one-off gatherings, underscoring Dubai's continued ability to attract global professional networks, international congresses and industry communities. Notable events included the EROC Global Forum, Emirates Diabetes & Endocrine Congress (EDEC), WCA World, and the 27th ICOM General Conference.

Meanwhile, the DWTC Free Zone maintained a strong growth trajectory in 2025, licensing 850 new companies and reinforcing its position as a dynamic, sector-focused business ecosystem.

Helal Saeed Almarri, director general of the Dubai World Trade Centre Authority, said that a major milestone was the completion of Phase 1 of Centre's expansion, which saw an expansion into Expo City with the opening of DEC. The new venue, which has a140,000 square metres event space, hosted 36 events in 2025, bringing in 319,000 participants.

"2025 was a record year for DWTC. Strong participation and sustained international engagement across a broad range of industry sectors demonstrate the enduring economic value that business events generate for the emirate,” he said.