Dubai aims for top ranks in MICE globally

Dubai, which is the No.1 business events destinations in the Middle East, aims to become among the top 10 destinations globally, according to a top government official.

Dubai's status as a premier business event destination for some of the world's most prestigious events has been reinforced by the latest rankings published by the Union of International Associations ( UIA), which saw the city maintain its 14th position in the 2015 International Meetings Statistics report.

Last month, the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) reported that it led the region's MICE sector activity in 2015, hosting 104 "large-scale" events that attracted a total of 2.6 million attendees through the year, of which 1.19 million were from overseas resulting in nearly 46 per cent international participation at these events.

In addition to the DWTC, a couple of big five- star hotels are also favourites for big regional and international events in the emirate such as Madinat Jumeirah and Atlantis the Palm.

"We are immensely proud of the fact that Dubai has maintained its strong position in the UIA's rankings in the face of renewed competition and strong economic headwinds, globally," said Issam Kazim, chief executive officer of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing.

Kazim added: "Our aim remains to break into the top 10 destinations and, together with our partners, I am confident that we will achieve this as we build a global knowledge hub here in Dubai."

The latest affirmation of Dubai's standing comes on the back of its selection to host the World Expo in 2020. Dubai expects to attract as many as 20 million visitors by 2020.

This year's International Meetings Statistics Report is the 57th edition of the UIA's analysis of trends in the international meetings industry, showing consistency in Dubai's rise among international meeting cities, after rising seven places in just two years - up from 21st in 2013.

The announcement follows another impressive showing in the standing of the world's top association meetings cities, as annually tracked by the International Congress and Convention Association ( ICCA). Released in May of this year, the 2015 ICCA Country and City Rankings track the number of rotating international association meetings that take place around the world each year. In 2015, a total of 56 were hosted in Dubai. This volume of events allowed the city to retain its top 50 position globally, ranking 46th, following a significant leap from 63rd place in 2013. In the Asia-Pacific and Middle East region rankings, Dubai also improved its position, moving up two places from number 12 to 10.

Firmly positioned as the No. 1 business events destination in the Middle East, Dubai also entered the league of "Top 25 Meeting Destinations in Europe Middle East and Africa" - a first in another major industry ranking annually tabulated by Cvent.

The leading cloud- based event management platform evaluates over 2,500 cities determined by a set of qualifying criteria including meeting and event booking activity in the Cvent Supplier Network, as well as the number of meeting and event venues available in the destinations ranked.