Dubai lures Wall Street jet-setters as events business rebounds

The jet-setting days of Wall Street bankers and executives flocking to Davos in January might be on pause, but in the financial capital of West Asia it’s business as usual once more.

Dubai is moving full-speed ahead with in-person events on the back of fewer travel restrictions and one of the world’s most-connected airports. The United Arab Emirates also has among the fastest vaccination programs, with 15 million doses administered in a population of 10 million.

As restrictions hamper travel to hubs including London and Singapore, Dubai is fast becoming a winner in the more than $1 trillion global events industry. The emirate plans to host one of the biggest gas conferences and an African investor summit this year, while top cricketers are set to gather in the UAE for a popular tournament and later, for the T20 World Cup.

Conferences and events accounted for 3 per cent of Dubai’s $112 billion economy in 2019, said Helal Al Marri, director general of the emirate’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, or DTCM. A return to normalcy would bolster the leisure industry, which was levelled by the pandemic.