Dubai emerges as a strong option to conduct business events

Dubai’s business events sector continues to lay the groundwork for a sustainable post-Covid recovery, with the city marking a number of major bid wins as meetings professionals around the world look to get their plans back on track. Dubai Business Events (DBE), the city’s official convention bureau, has worked with stakeholders across Dubai to add a number of new events into the pipeline in recent months, including the following, all taking place in 2021: International DIP Symposium on Diabetes, Hypertension, Metabolic Syndrome and Pregnancy; World Independent Advertising Award Conference; and Omnilife Latin America Incentive.

Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said, “Despite all the challenges faced by the global Covid-19 pandemic, Dubai’s ability to maintain a pipeline of business events over the coming years is a continued testament to both the response of the city’s leadership to tackle the situation and the resilience of our stakeholders, who continued to work together to elevate the city and sustain its appeal to a truly global audience. With international meetings already taking place again in Dubai, the city is primed to lead the business event sector’s resurgence, re-cementing the vital role they play in driving economic growth and providing a platform for networking, professional development and knowledge sharing.”

Steen Jakobsen, Assistant Vice President, Dubai Business Events, said: “Just as the global calendar of business events has been disrupted over the past few months, so have bidding cycles and timelines for choosing destinations for future events. Nevertheless, we continue to see increasing interest from meetings professionals around the world and clear determination to get plans back on track. In a number of cases, where unfortunately other cities have not proved viable for certain events through 2021, we have been able to step in to provide an alternative, and we continue to work with event planners to identify opportunities where Dubai can play a role in restarting their business events.”