Dubai Business Events (DBE), the city’s official convention bureau, has reported strong results for the first half of 2018, with 125 successful bids to host business events, reflecting a 29 per cent increase over the same period last year, a media report said.

Conferences, meetings and incentive programmes secured in the first six months of the year, including from bids submitted in previous years, are poised to attract over 65,000 delegates from around the world, resulting in an expected economic impact of approximately Dh500 million ($136 million), reported Emirates news agency Wam.

"Dubai’s success in attracting an increasing number of business events is a testament to the city’s ability, across the public and private sectors, to coalesce together to position it on a global stage,” said Issam Kazim, chief executive officer of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing.

“Dubai Business Events has worked closely with stakeholders to ensure the city is able to optimise its bidding opportunities, highlighting not only the tourism and events infrastructure, but also the knowledge exchange possibilities in Dubai. We thank all our partners and look forward to working with them to build on our collective efforts to contribute to our ambitious tourism targets.”

Key business event in H1 included Pro-Health China Incentive (2019), World Chamber Congress (2021), International Congress for the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (2021), World Congress of Gastroenterology (2021), as well as the Asia Pacific Congress of Cardiology (2023).

During the first half of 2018, the DBE also increased efforts to highlight the city’s offering to international audiences and strengthen strategic partnerships to help enhance the business event sector in Dubai. The DBE representatives attended over 70 trade events, where it showcased Dubai’s dynamic business events offerings and services to more than 9,000 international meetings, events, and incentives industry professionals.

At IMEX, the DBE, along with 24 key stakeholders, including Emirates Airline, Dubai World Trade Centre, Expo 2020 Dubai and Jumeirah Group, demonstrated a strong focus on transforming Dubai into a global knowledge hub. The DBE also hosted 14 site inspections for 30 clients and hosted four in-depth study missions for a total of 136 hosted buyers in the first half of the year.

During the first half of 2018, the bureau also organised three roadshows in key markets across Europe, South East Asia, and North America, attracting more than 400 business events planners. The roadshows acted as a platform to meet and engage with key decision-makers, educate them, and showcase the city’s capabilities, as well as services offered by the DBE.