Dubai

Hilton Fujairah Resort

Dubai. All the roads of business lead here

In the virtual race with Abu Dhabi in the sphere of the tourism business, Dubai maintains a head-to-head position, worthy of the great sporting competitions which it is also host to

Dubai. All the roads of business lead here | © MyMedina s.r.l.

The Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), the city’s first skyscraper, built in the 1980s, is the impressive icon of the vast trade fair complex, which today still functions as the real focal point for all international commerce and industry in Dubai, with particular merit also in the conventions sector. The hotel which carried the same name has, on the other hand, been purposefully demolished to leave space for the prestigious World Trade Centre Residence, a skyscraper with 40 floors and 349 apartments, the opening of which is foreseen for the end of 2007.

In 2003, the same organisation launched the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC), located at a short distance from the DWTC, and at which, among other things, meetings of an economic and financial nature of great importance are held. Its vast exhibition spaces, distributed over a area of 8,100 square metres, are able to host over 15,000 people, while the auditorium alone can accomodate a good 6,500.

An important feature is the presence of two hotels inside the complex, as well as comfortable residence apartments, also located inside the vast area, which complete the hospitality offer for participants at the numerous events held.

A real winning team, that which is composed of the DWTC and the DICEC, to which is added the contribution of the Dubai Airport Expo Centre. This is a structure for exhibitions and international conventions and conferences which is directed by the same business group and which is optimally located at two minutes by car from Dubai International Airport, from which it takes its name, and at ten minutes from the DWTC.

The sheer quantity and importance of the events that take place annually at Dubai is hard to believe. At the Dubai World Trade Centre alone, a good 92 exhibitions/fairs in 2006 were held, regarding the sectors of products, services and culture and industry in their most various forms. Among these:

  • the Middle East International Motor Show – the major international event in the automobile sector for the Middle East, it spreads across 11 exhibitions salons at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre and often takes place contemporaneously with other events in the same category;
  • Arab Health – the next edition will be from 28 to 31 January 2008 – the international trade fair and convention event on health and scientific research in the fields of medicine and pharmaceuticals;
  • Gulfood – established in 1987, this is the most important b2b event in the area for the food industry both wholesale and retail, and also for catering and hospitality;
  • GITEX – the most important ICT event for the Middle East, North Africa and Southern Asia.
All these events attract visitors from the entire Arabian Peninsula as well as from other continents, establishing themselves as key appointments not to be missed from year to year. Other important growth sectors for the region, such as those of property and tourism, are seeing a remarkable increase in the number of international fairs dedicated to them, as well as many other spheres, considered to be niche sectors, capable, however, of creating economic and employment opportunities, and attracting investors even from areas which are very far away.

Alongside projects which are almost completed, others are underway on the middle to long term. Among these, the government of Dubai has been completing, since 2005, the Dubai Exhibition City at Jebel Ali, that is, the area which houses Dubai International Airport. A highly ambitious project, it will cover an area of 3 million sq metres, also offering hotels, residences, restaurants, offices, salons and car parks for over 20,000 cars. Completion of work is foreseen in time for the Dubai Air Show (the aeronautical trade fair of Dubai), in 2009.

Among the trade fair spaces, mention should also be made of those present within Dubai Internet City (DIC) and Dubai Media City (Media Business Centre), two cities within the city, in which on the one hand there is the world of informatics and its most affirmed progeny, the Internet, and on the other the world of communications (which intersects with and on the Internet), constituting two poles of attraction for business from all over the world. It is here, in effect, that most of the events related to the two sectors take place, drawing a very high number of visitors, to whom is offered the very best in comfort and efficiency, guaranteeing economic and financial results that are often unimaginable elsewhere.

Lastly, a significant role is certainly played also by the receptive structures in Dubai. In effect, most of the hotels offer facilities for conventions, allowing their guests, furthermore, to enjoy the pleasant and relaxing services available, such as thermal spas, sports centres, discotheques, and restaurants specialising in gastronomy of the most various international origins, as well as transfers by limousine and much else besides.