Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) has won a strategic bid to host nine new international congresses at the venue from 2017 – 2021, adding to its already robust calendar of confirmed events over the coming years.

Expected to welcome more than 24,000 delegates from around the world, these high-profile events are set to deliver a solid economic boost for the emirate while facilitating growth in key sectors including healthcare, energy and environment, and engineering.

Commenting on the wins, Ahmed Alkhaja, Senior Vice President – Venues, DWTC said: “DWTC is committed to Dubai’s economic diversification strategy firmly aligned to the Dubai Plan 2021 and is working towards contributing business visitors to the tourism target. Our latest wins is not only a reflection of our investment in growing the MICE sector but also of Dubai’s dedication to welcoming international and regional congresses in the UAE.”

“As we continue to win new and diverse international congresses, DWTC remains dedicated to strategically aligning its in-take of international congresses with a focus on key-growth sectors. Healthcare, energy and environment are emerging as important industries that will fuel economic growth, and it is therefore essential that we support those industries moving forward,” said Alkhaja.

One of the new additions to DWTC’s calendar within the arena of healthcare is the Congress of the Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology (APLAR), which will take place in October 2017. The congress focuses on leading the fight against arthritis through its member development and encouraging research in the field of rheumatic diseases.

In 2018, DWTC will host a variety of new congresses such as the 13th Conference of Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands focusing on environmental conservation and the World Tunnel Congress, which brings together some of the most brilliant engineering minds in the field of tunnelling for the world’s most sustainable cities. World Cardiology Congress and World Congress of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity & Metabolic Disorders will also be hosted in the same year, providing medical practitioners a platform to share advancements in the field of surgery and medicine.

2019 will see DWTC welcome the 60th Amway APAC Leadership Seminar and the International Federation for Health Information Management Association.

DWTC will receive the Meeting of International Children’s Continence Society in 2020, and the World Congress of the World Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons in 2021.

DWTC hosted 34 diverse congresses in 2016 including The Society of Petroleum Engineers Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition which saw over 7,000 delegates; THINK SCIENCE 2016 which saw over 7,000 visitors, the 34th International Congress of the International Society of Blood Transfusion which saw over 3,000 delegates; and YPO Global Leadership Conference 2016 which saw over 3,000 visitors.