The Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing has issued official guidelines on how business events can take place safely in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The move comes as the city prepares to resume its calendar of conferences, meetings and exhibitions.

While the Emirate reopened to international visitors in July, the event sector has been in statis as authorities examine how gatherings can take place safely.

Now, with locally organised meetings taking place from September 15th and international meetings returning to the city from October 1st, the guidelines focus on protecting the health and safety of all participants, including delegates and staff, while ensuring they are able to host and experience impactful meetings that meet the needs of all stakeholders involved.

Key measures venues and organisers must implement include social distancing, temperature checks, the safe dispensation of food and regular sanitation of facilities.

Along with procedures already in place at the airport, hotels, restaurants, attractions and other visitor touchpoints around the city, the guidelines allow Dubai to be at the forefront of the global recovery of the business events sector, with a number of important conferences and trade shows already scheduled over the coming months.

Dubai is seen as the safest location to host international exhibitions and conferences in the coming months, while trade fairs will play a critical role in a post-Covid-19 ‘restart’, according to new research.

A recent market survey of more than 4,000 professionals from 130 countries explored the impact of Covid-19 on the global exhibitions industry, delving into key areas such as travel, budgets, and the importance of trade fairs in a post-pandemic world.

The study covered a wide range of industry sectors from the auto aftermarket and commercial security to beauty and cosmetics, showing that 77 per cent of respondents viewed Dubai and Germany (41 per cent of respondents), as the safest destinations to attend exhibitions post Covid-19.

The tourism and hospitality sectors in Dubai are benefiting from a rapid rebound driven by a multi-phase roadmap being executed by the Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing.

Prominent players in the industry have experienced a surge of interest from across the world since the reopening of the city to international tourists on July 7th.

“Since then, we have been greatly encouraged by the market’s response in the current second phase of our recovery strategy, which was activated along with the gradual resumption of economic sectors, as well as the staggered and tentative restart of travel across the world,” said Helal Saeed Almarri, director general of Dubai Tourism.

More Information

Dubai is considered the World’s Leading MICE Destination by voters at the World Travel Awards.

Among the first events to take place in the post-Covid-19 world will be the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference from Bench Events, which will take place at the end of this month.

Find out more here.