Europe accounts for highest number of int’l business event visitors in DWTC

23 / 07 / 2019

By Marwa Nassar -

Europe accounted for the highest number of international business event visitors (25%), followed by the GCC (21%), and the MENA region (17%). The top 10 source markets – the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, India, Oman, China, Egypt, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Kuwait – all lie within an eight-hour flight path from Dubai, highlighting the city’s growing significance as a premier business destination at the crossroads between the East and the West.

International attendees to DWTC large-scale events constitute 41% of total participants, yet they account for 79% (AED 12.9 billion) of the overall direct spend. On the contrary, domestic participants accounted for 59% of the total attendance and were responsible for 21% of direct spend (AED 3.4 billion), according to the Dubai World Trade Center’s latest Economic Impact Assessment report for 2018.

The higher spend per event by international participants is approximately seven times higher in comparison to locally-based attendees (AED 7,375 vs. AED 1,099), attributable to the increase in length of stay of international visitors and companion accompanied travel. On average, the duration of stay for international participants was 5.5 days in 2018, up on the 5-day figure for 2017, while the number of companion travelers has also risen by 76% over 2017.

“Dubai’s evolution as a leading MICE destination has undeniably helped shape its reputation as a global hub for the international business community, and DWTC has been a pioneering leader in this journey. The momentum achieved to-date through the past four decades since our inception, positions us strongly as we progress towards 2020, laying the foundations to realize the vision and strategy of our city’s leadership – to drive further investment across sectors into Dubai’s and the nation’s economy,” said Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai World Trade Centre Authority and Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.