Dubai Showcases New Venues, Hotels and Offerings for Meeting Planners at Imex Frankfurt

Following a strong start to 2019, Dubai Business Events (DBE), the city’s official convention bureau, showcased Dubai’s dynamic business events offerings yet again at IMEX, the worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events. The aim of DBE’s participation at the event in Frankfurt, from 21 – 23 May, is to position Dubai as a destination of choice for business events and incentive travel for a global audience of over 14,000 hosted buyers and trade visitors.

This year, alongside more than 30 co-exhibitors, DBE previewed new project plans and milestones that demonstrate a strong focus on transforming Dubai into a global knowledge hub. In addition, the bureau highlighted some of the latest developments in Dubai’s state-of-the-art facilities, infrastructure and renowned hospitality sector. Among the co-exhibitors were Coca-Cola Arena, Expo 2020 Dubai and W Dubai – The Palm, all of whom shared new and upcoming offerings with event planners, while the likes of Dubai World Trade Centre, Emirates and Jumeirah Group joined DBE at the show once again, underlining the broader business events infrastructure in the city.

Issam Kazim, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said:“Business events play a pivotal role in our city’s transformation into a global knowledge economy and our participation in events such as IMEX serve as an ideal platform to support our ambitious tourism strategy. After a strong start to 2019, DBE continues to build on its momentum, attracting events that are set to make a significant economic impact and leave a lasting legacy for delegates from around the globe. As we look to further strengthen Dubai’s reputation as the destination of choice for business events, the contribution of our partners and stakeholders across the city, many of whom have joined us in Frankfurt, will be crucial.” 

Dubai Business Events aims to further strengthen Dubai’s reputation as a premier business events destination globally by promoting the city as a destination of choice through a number of platforms and initiatives that cater to a wide range of business event professionals. Among these activities are inbound study missions, outbound sales roadshows and annual networking events. Additionally, DBE takes part in a number of trade shows and events throughout the year as part of its calendar of activities, that serve as a powerful platform to further educate meeting planners and event organisers about the city’s attractive business event capabilities, as well as new developments in Dubai’s competitive business events sector. 

Steen Jakobsen, Assistant Vice President, Dubai Business Events said: “Having started the year on a strong note, our participation in IMEX, along with our partners and stakeholders, is a testament to our ambitions to continue to position Dubai as a premier business events destination. At this year’s event, our focus is on furthering partnerships with stakeholders as well as engaging with business events professionals globally, to identify new opportunities for the city. We look forward to showcasing our latest offerings as well as contributing to the larger discourse on the theme of ‘imagination’ which will surely fuel a new level of collaboration and inclusion in the business events industry.”

DBE is also promoting the second edition of the Dubai Association Conference, which is taking place in December this year and will bring together government representatives, industry leaders and association executives from around the world for the purpose of discussing the societal impact of associations. The event’s main objective is to serve as a platform for dialogue and education for associations interested in exploring opportunities in the Middle East and to ultimately contribute to building a stronger association community that drives the knowledge economy in the United Arab Emirates and the wider region.

Major bid wins for Dubai Business Events in 2019 so far have included the Geospatial Week which is set to take place in 2021, the Society of Petroleum Engineers Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition in 2021, the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property World Congressin 2025, as well as incentive groups from Amway and Roche Diagnostic.