Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), has announced strong 2025 reporting growth in MICE events hosted in the emirate.
DWTC welcomed 2.97m attendees in 2025 across its Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) and Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC) venues, a 12% year-on-year increase. The calendar of 401 events, represented growth of 6% annually.
H.E. Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai World Trade Centre Authority, said: “2025 was a record year for DWTC, reflecting the resilience and maturity of Dubai’s business events ecosystem and its continued contribution to the Dubai Economic Agenda D33. Strong participation and sustained international engagement across a broad range of industry sectors demonstrate the enduring economic value that business events generate for the emirate.
“A major milestone in the year was the completion of Phase 1 of the Dubai Exhibition Centre expansion, significantly increasing Dubai’s capacity to host large-scale international events. The venue’s readiness for flagship gatherings in early 2026 underscores our ability to deliver complex projects at scale while maintaining operational continuity.”
DWTC hosted 134 MICE events in 2025, attracting 2.19m participants, an 8% year-on-year increase. Approximately 951,000 of the event participants came from abroad.
The number of exhibiting companies topped 63,000, up 8% year-on-year, of which 78% were international.
DWTC organised 14 flagship exhibitions and events in 2025, attracting close to 630,000 participants, a 7% year-on-year increase. Of these, 261,000 were international attendees. These events featured over 20,000 exhibiting companies, with 75% being international.
Gulfood Manufacturing led participation growth across the portfolio with a 12% year-on-year increase, while GITEX Global recorded 10% growth.
2025 also marked accelerated international expansion of the DWTC’s event portfolio, with successful editions of GITEX Global delivered in key growth markets including Europe and Africa, alongside expanded activity across Asia.
DWTC’s integrated event management and experiential agency, DXB LIVE, delivered a strong performance in 2025, providing solutions for over 442 major exhibitions, conferences, festivals and international events. Building on successful delivery in Dubai, including World of Coffee Dubai, World Police Summit, ICOM and Hatta Cultural Nights, the agency also expanded its global footprint, supporting high-profile projects across 13 cities.
Top-performing industry sectors
The Healthcare and Medical sector remained the largest event setor, with 23 events attracting 436,000 participants, a 20% share of total MICE attendance. Major events included World Health Expo (formerly Arab Health), AEEDC, DUPHAT, Medlab and Dubai Derma.
The ICT, Electronics and Emerging Technology sector ranked second with 11 events and 341,000 participants, a 21% increase year-on-year, driven by GITEX Global and Expand North Star.
The Food and Beverage sector placed third with seven events attracting 280,000 participants, led by Gulfood and Gulfood Manufacturing.
The Consumer Goods and Retail sector ranked fourth with 117,000 participants, driven by China Home Life, World Vape Show and The Baby Expo. The Security, Defence and Safety sector completed the top five with 105,000 participants, led by Intersec.
Additional high-performing sectors included Construction (Big 5), Beauty and Wellness (Beautyworld), Energy and Environment (WETEX and Middle East Energy), Automotive (Automechanika), Travel and Tourism (Arabian Travel Market) and Sports and Fitness (Dubai Muscle Show).
In addition to established exhibitions, seven new exhibitions were introduced in 2025, further diversifying the calendar and contributing 30,000 participants and 750 exhibiting companies. New additions at DWTC included the Middle East Event Show, The Mining Show, Vision Plus Expo and K-Expo, while DEC hosted JPEX, Middle East Hunting Expo and My Plant & Garden Middle East.
Source: www.exhibitionworld.co.uk
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