Expo 2020 Dubai, the six-month-long event held last year drew 24 million visits, proving Dubai’s ability to host mega global events and reinforcing its position as an international events’ destination.
Expo 2020 hosted global business and leisure events across 2022 including Gulfood, the World Government Summit, Binance Blockchain Week, Gitex Global Dubai, the International Boat Show and the Arabian Travel Market.
The city also hosted the Skift Global Forum East, the first-ever international extension of the world’s flagship travel conference, the Skift Global Forum.
Every year, as part of its Retail Calendar, the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment team (DFRE) organises major festivals and events including the iconic internationally-renowned Dubai Shopping Festival, Dubai Food Festival, Dubai Summer Surprises and Dubai Fitness Challenge.
In 2022, DFRE also launched the inaugural Dubai Esports Festival, the largest international esports tournament to be held in the region.
A leading sports tourism destination, Dubai also hosts an extensive line-up of annual global sports tournaments and events, attracting sporting icons, players and fans from around the world. In 2022 the city’s international sporting calendar included the Dubai World Cup horse race, the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship, Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby 7s, the Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament and the DP World Tour championship, to name a few. Dubai pulled out all stops to enable residents and visiting fans to enjoy the FIFA World Cup 2022 at buzzing hotspots in the city. Dubai was chosen as one of six cities globally to host an official FIFA Fan Festival, making Dubai a focal point for the international football fraternity.
Dubai seeks to further enhance its destination proposition across all tourism pillars, leveraging the retail and events sectors to attract more domestic and global visitors.