Dubai secures 504 successful bids for global business events in 2025, reinforcing economic growth and D33 momentum

Dubai continued to strengthen its position as one of the world’s most sought-after destinations for international business events in 2025, securing the opportunity to host 504 global business events across key economic sectors and professional fields across the coming four years. Driven by Dubai Business Events (DBE), the city’s official convention bureau and part of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), this performance represents a 15% year-on-year increase in successful bids, further reinforcing Dubai’s global competitiveness as a business events hub aligned with long-term economic priorities.

The events secured during 2025 are expected to attract an estimated 272,262 delegates to Dubai through 2029, representing a 29% increase in delegate numbers compared to 209,545 delegates secured in 2024. This will generate direct impact across the city’s meetings, incentives and conferences segments within Dubai’s wider travel and tourism ecosystems. Beyond delegate numbers, these events will bring global expertise, talent and investment opportunities to the city, reinforcing Dubai’s role as a platform for knowledge exchange, innovation and cross-sector collaboration.

Beyond future pipelines, Dubai hosted 481 DBE-supported business events in 2025, up from 429 in 2024, representing a 9% year-on-year increase. These events were delivered as a direct result of successful DBE-led bids, highlighting and further contributing to the strength and depth of Dubai’s overall international and domestic business events calendar. This momentum is reflected in bid submissions, with 747 bids submitted in 2025 compared to 669 in 2024, an 11% increase.

Dubai’s sustained success reflects the strength of its destination proposition and the collaborative efforts of public and private sector stakeholders working in unison to capture global business events. This performance further underscores Dubai’s accessibility, safety, world-class infrastructure, and depth of experience in hosting complex, high-profile international gatherings. Crucially, it also highlights the growing contribution of business events to the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33, supporting the city’s goal to consolidate its position as a leading global city for business and leisure.

Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment, said: “Guided by the vision of our leadership, business events continue to play a pivotal role in supporting Dubai’s economic growth, knowledge economy, and global positioning. The strong performance delivered in 2025 reflects the confidence international associations, corporates and incentive planners place in Dubai as a destination that consistently delivers excellence, scale and impact.

“As we look ahead to 2026, we remain focused on deepening collaboration with our partners and stakeholders alike, elevate Dubai’s standing in the global business events landscape, in line with the ambitions of the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33, and to create long-term value for the city, organisers and delegates alike”, he added.

Dubai secured a series of major future-facing global congresses, including World Engineers Congress 2027 (3,000 delegates); Apimondia 2027 (5,000 delegates); SICOT World Congress 2027 (2,700 delegates); World Congress of Intensive and Critical Care 2028 (4,500 delegates); SPE ATCE Annual Congress 2028 (8,000 delegates); and World Ophthalmology Congress 2028 (12,000 delegates), reflecting Dubai’s growing appeal across high-value knowledge sectors. A notable industry win for the city last year was the Annual SWIFT Conference and Exhibition – SIBOS 2029, one of the world’s leading financial services events, expected to welcome 12,000 delegates to Dubai.

The city also strengthened its position across the corporate and incentive segments, securing major global programmes including The Africa Energy Forum 2026 (2,000 delegates), UNLEASH Middle East 2026 (2,000 delegates), and the Herbalife India President Retreat 2026 (2,500 delegates). This long-term win reinforces Dubai’s ability to attract complex, large-scale global events with multi-year economic and reputational impact.

To sustain global momentum, DBE maintained an active international engagement programme throughout 2025, participating in major industry trade shows and platforms including IMEX Frankfurt and America, IBTM Barcelona, IBTM World, alongside a year-round calendar of sales missions and study missions across priority markets. These efforts ensured Dubai remained top-of-mind for international event organizers across association, corporate and incentive segments.

DBE also continued to strengthen its strategic initiatives during the year, including the Al Safeer Congress Ambassador Programme, which mobilizes UAE-based subject-matter experts and industry leaders to attract international congresses within their respective fields. Partnerships with leading global industry bodies such as BestCities Global Alliance, IAPCO, ASAE and ICCA further supported the international connectivity of Dubai’s business events ecosystem and bid success.

This strong year-end performance builds on Dubai’s continued recognition by leading global benchmarks, including being ranked #1 globally for average attendance per association meeting and #1 in the Middle East and Africa for meetings hosted by International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) and Cvent. Dubai’s broader competitiveness was further reflected in its rise to fourth place in the IMD Smart City Index 2025 and record air connectivity, with Dubai International Airport recording its busiest half-year on record in H1 2025, reinforcing the city’s appeal for international business events.

As Dubai enters 2026 with a robust forward pipeline of confirmed international business events already secured for the coming years, the city remains firmly positioned to drive sustained economic impact, global visibility and long-term knowledge-led growth through its business events strategy.

Visit www.dubaibusinessevents.com to find out more.