Dubai Strengthens Corporate Position by Winning 504 International Business Events

Dubai secures rights to host 504 global business events, reinforcing its position as one of the world’s leading destinations for international business events secured in 2025. These events will cover key economic sectors, including business and tourism, and professional fields over the next four years.

Led by Dubai Business Events (DBE), the official convention bureau of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), the performance represents a 15% year-on-year increase in successful bids. The win thus underscores Dubai’s growing competitiveness as a global business events hub aligned with long-term economic priorities under the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 .

Every event secured during 2025 is expected to attract 272,262 delegates to Dubai through 2029, marking an almost 30% increase compared to the 209,545 delegates secured in 2024. This milestone is set to deliver direct economic impact across Dubai’s conferences segments, meetings, and incentives, reflecting Dubai’s corporate events growth in both scale and pipeline depth

Ultimately, this win will impact various sectors whilst bringing global expertise, investment opportunities, and talent to the city. The events will go beyond tourism metrics and are expected to reinforce Dubai’s role as a platform for cross-sector collaboration, innovation, and knowledge exchange, especially as global conferences in Dubai continue to expand in scope and strategic relevance

Dubai’s Strong Delivery Performance in 2025

This ambitious road ahead was greatly supported by Dubai’s strong delivery performance recorded in 2025. To highlight, the emirate hosted a total of 481 prestigious Dubai Business Events (DBE)-supported business events, up from the 429 recorded in the previous year (2024), representing an impressive 9% year-on-year growth.

Furthermore, these events were delivered as a direct result of DBE-led bids. The success of this is clear in the fact that bid activity increased, with 747 bids submitted in 2025, compared to 669 in 2024, an 11% rise, highlighting the consistency and depth of Dubai’s domestic and international business events calendar.

No doubt, Dubai’s continued success reflects the strength of its destination proposition, elevated by its central location, and the coordinated efforts of public and private sector stakeholders. The city’s proven experience in hosting complex, high-profile international gatherings, paired with its accessibility, safety, and world-class infrastructure, continue to position it as a Dubai global business hub and support its performance.

What’s more, business events remain a core contributor to the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, a goal actively supporting Dubai’s ambition to consolidate its position as a leading global city for both business and leisure. The CEO of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment, Ahmed Al Khaja, says:

“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.”

Dubai Secures Several Major Future-Facing Global Congresses

During 2025, Dubai succeeded in securing several major future-facing global congresses across high-value knowledge sectors, reinforcing business tourism in Dubai One of the biggest wins came with securing SIBOS 2029, one of the world’s leading financial services conferences, an event expected to attract 12,000 delegates to Dubai.

Next, bringing in a high number of delegates to the city are the World Ophthalmology Congress 2028 with 12,000 delegates, SPE ATCE Annual Congress 2028 with 8,000 delegates, Apimondia 2027 with 5,000 delegates, and World Congress of Intensive and Critical Care 2028 with 4,500 delegates.

Lastly, the World Engineers Congress 2027 with 3,000 delegates and SICOT World Congress 2027 with 2,700 delegates. Dubai also strengthened its position in the corporate and incentive segments by securing major global programmes such as The Africa Energy Forum 2026 with 2,000 delegates.

These segments will also see a boost with events such as UNLEASH Middle East 2026 with 2,000 delegates and the Herbalife India President Retreat 2026 with 2,500 delegates. These events are set to reinforce the city’s ability to attract large-scale, complex events with long-term economic and reputational impact.

DBE Sustains Active International Engagement Program

The Dubai Business Events (DBE) team has sustained an active international engagement programme throughout 2025, to maintain momentum. This will have the entity participating in leading industry platforms such as IMEX America, IBTM Barcelona, IMEX Frankfurt, and IBTM World, alongside year-round sales and study missions across priority markets.

By doing so, the entity can ensure that Dubai remains ‘top-of-mind’ among international event organisers across association, corporate, and incentive segments. DBE also continues to strengthen strategic initiatives such as the Al Safeer Congress Ambassador Programme, which mobilises UAE-based subject-matter experts to attract international congresses in Dubai.

The entity also forms and maintains partnerships with global industry bodies including ASAE, BestCities Global Alliance, IAPCO, and ICCA, further supporting Dubai’s international connectivity and bid success. With a robust forward pipeline of confirmed international business events,DBE has now set the stage for a strong 2026.

Dubai’s number 1 global ranks for average attendance per association meeting and in the Middle East and Africa for meetings hosted by ICCA and Cvent, led to its strong year-end performance. Built on Dubai’s continued recognition by global benchmarks, the city’s broader competitiveness was further reflected in its rise to fourth place in the IMD Smart City Index 2025

All this paired with the fact that the Dubai International Airport recorded its busiest half-year on record in H1 2025, alongside record air connectivity, Dubai entered 2026 with greater ambition and remains well-positioned to drive global visibility, long-term knowledge-led growth, and sustained economic impact through its business events strategy, with the Dubai Convention Bureau supporting more international congresses in Dubai

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