Dubai World Trade Centre events add Dh12 billion to GDP in 2015
Date
6/28/2016 2:10:12 AM
(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Events held at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) contributed Dh12 billion to Dubai''s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015, according to a report released on Monday.
It is also estimated that the exhibition centre''s total economic output was nearly Dh21 billion in 2015 that supported more than 80,400 jobs, revealed DWTC''s ''Economic Impact Assessment'' report.
"DWTC has delivered a very strong CAGR on contribution to the GDP over the past three to four years. With our ongoing capacity investments, we expect to continue to keep the momentum going in driving both optimal scale and quality of content across our show calendar to allow business tourism to become an even greater economic engine for Dubai," Helal Saeed Almarri, director-general, DWTC Authority and Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said.
The DWTC led the region''s meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (Mice) sector activity in 2015, hosting 104 "large-scale" events that attracted 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.
The data represents a significant growth across both parameters when compared to the first economic impact report published by DWTC in 2011, which reported just over 30 per cent international participation of a total of 1.3 million visitors to events at the venue that year.
Another key takeaway is the ancillary benefit of each unit of Mice sector-linked spending to sectors within the broader value chain that drive a five-fold multiplier effect. Every Dh1 spent at a DWTC event created Dh5 in value for the wider Dubai economy in 2015.
DWTC''s 2015 economic impact reports the Mice sector''s ability to generate critical stimulus across the UAE''s tourism, aviation, hospitality and transport industries as a direct result of the expenditure of event organisers, exhibitors, sponsors and participants. The report further assessed the key factors to enhance Mice sector contribution - international attendance and scale.
During 2015, it was observed that international attendees to business events at DWTC stayed an average six days and spent nearly Dh8,268 during their visit, which is nine times the average spend of UAE-based attendees.
"Every overseas participant at our venue is ultimately a visitor to Dubai and will benefit the wider tourism ecosystem from airlines and hotels, to retail and attractions across the city. Naturally, the massive multiplier effect of having international traffic drives much greater value to our GDP," Almarri said.
He added: "DWTC has been a key facilitator to building Dubai''s profile as a global business destination, leveraging the emirate''s heritage as a regional trading hub, enabling Fortune 1000 companies and their customers to connect each year at our venue, conduct business, forge partnerships and explore opportunities."
-
(function(P,o,s,t,Q,r,e){P[''PostquareObject'']=Q;P[Q]=P[Q]||function(){ (P[Q].q=P[Q].q||[]).push(arguments)},P[Q].l=1*new Date();r=o.createElement(s), e=o.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];r.async=1;r.src=t;e.parentNode.insertBefore(r,e) })(window,document,''script'',''//widget.engageya.com/_pos_loader.js'',''__posWidget''); __posWidget(''createWidget'',{wwei:''POSTQUARE_WIDGET_90498'',pubid:166590,webid:131503,wid:90498,on:''postquare''});