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The Dubai World Trade Centre said in a statement that its fourth-quarter programme will feature a series of major international exhibitions and conferences at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre in the central business district and the Dubai Exhibition Centre at Expo City Dubai. Events set to launch the season in September include DUPHAT, Middle East Energy and Arabian Travel Market followed by Arab Lab, WETEX, the World Green Economy Summit, Gulfood Manufacturing, The Big 5 Global and Beautyworld Dubai in October with GITEX Global scheduled for December. GITEX Global is expected to attract more than 200,000 technology executives along with 6,800 exhibitors and participants from more than 180 countries according to DWTC.
DWTC figures show the centre welcomed 2.97 million participants across 401 events in 2025 a 12 per cent increase year on year while generating a record AED25 billion in total economic output. The 134 MICE-specific events within that total drew 2.19 million attendees including approximately 951,000 international visitors and more than 63,000 exhibiting companies of which 78 per cent came from overseas. A separate DWTC assessment found that these large-scale gatherings supported an estimated 94,000 jobs across the MICE ecosystem and adjacent sectors in 2025.
Construction on phase two of the Dubai Exhibition Centre expansion has continued through 2026 with the overall Dh10 billion project now 10 per cent complete and phase two on track for completion by 2028 according to Amer Al Farsi, vice president of real estate development at DWTC. The work will expand indoor event space to 160,000 square metres increase daily visitor capacity to around 60,000 and incorporate an extended concourse a new Eastern Access Road and multi-storey parking facilities providing around 7,000 spaces initially. DWTC data places the full expansion completion by 2031 as a key step toward enabling the emirate to host more than 600 large-scale events annually by 2033.
The UAE MICE market was valued at $5.65 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $10.01 billion by 2031 as venue capacity and supporting infrastructure expand a sector review cited by Khaleej Times indicated. DWTC hosted 14 flagship exhibitions and events in 2025 that alone attracted close to 630,000 participants including 261,000 international attendees the centre reported. Those flagship gatherings featured more than 20,000 exhibiting companies with 75 per cent registered from outside the UAE.
In the statement executive vice-president at DWTC Mahir Julfar said the breadth of the calendar for the remainder of 2026 is significant bringing together major international events and specialist industry platforms across multiple sectors. Julfar added that the line-up of world-class exhibitions and conferences serves as a strategic driver for business tourism attracting international investment and generating sustained value across multiple sectors of the economy. The two-venue approach allows DWTC to accommodate simultaneous events and respond to rising demand from diverse industries the organisation noted.
