Annual visitor numbers to Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) crossed the two-million mark for the first time in 2013 as 2.2 million people visited the various events and exhibitions at the facility. Exhibitors from more than 130 countries visited 373 events, which was 71 more events than 2012 – an increase of 23.5 percent.

“The strong 2013 performance is a reflection of a more stable global economy, domestic market recovery in construction and real estate, as well as growing consumer confidence,” says Helal Saeed Almarri, CEO of Dubai World Trade Centre. “Our focus on developing stronger events within key sectors for Dubai’s economy – and growing the international attendance at events hosted in our venue – has allowed Dubai World Trade Centre to sustainably increase the value created for all stakeholders within the MICE sector – ultimately driving even greater GDP contribution.”
The industrial sectors that DWTC focused on during the record-breaking year were healthcare, energy, finance and economics, food, logistics, retail, communications and technology. These were underpinned by association and rotational congresses in these sectors. Highprofile forums such as the ITU Telecoms World and Sibos, an important meeting for the international financial services sector, contributed to the record numbers.
“Over the last decade, Dubai World Trade Centre has seen a trebling of its visitor numbers and we expect to be able to continue attracting more international business travellers and incentivising higher spend with a more diversified event calendar, in line with Dubai’s Tourism Vision for 2020,” added Almarri.
Consumer-facing events such as the Dubai Sports World and Dubai Music Week brought in more than 631,000 guests, while entertainment and live events saw a heady growth of 59 percent at DWTC.

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