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Informa and DWTC join forces at pivotal time for Dubai

Informa Group and Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) have entered into a strategic partnership to create a new B2B live event business.

inD – pronounced “indee” – will combine a portfolio of over 40 brands across Turkey, Egypt, the UAE, India and Bahrain.

The launch expects to see combined annual revenues of $650 million in 2026.

That’s your top story. Here are your other headlines in the Week in Events news roundup:

Messe Dusseldorf reaffirms industry leadership position with 2025 financial results
UFI appoints Raya Al Taher as new research coordinator
Kai Hattendorf provides insights on the event industry’s AI perception gap

Keep reading for your full news stories.

Informa and DWTC launch new B2B event business inD

Leading event organizers Informa and DWTC have joined forces in a new a strategic partnership.

The two companies have teamed up to create inD – a new business that will combine a portfolio of more than 40 shows in the UAE and IMEA.

It comes as part of a wider strategy to strengthen the region’s international position as the leading hub for B2B live events.

Stephen A. Carter, CEO of Informa Group, said: “The creation of inD deepens our partnership with DWTC at a time of structural growth for our industry, strong economic growth across the region and dynamic market growth in the UAE in particular, as the supply of high-quality venue space increases to meet growing demand for B2B live events.”

Helal Saeed Almarri, CEO of Dubai World Trade Centre, added: “Dubai has long been the world’s leading destination for global business events. This partnership now elevates that position further by transforming Dubai into an IP and knowledge hub that not only accelerates international growth opportunities for DWTC’s flagship brands but also strengthens Dubai’s long-term GDP impact, further cementing its role as a leading global player in B2B events.”

The portfolio will include major events including – GITEX Global, WHX, Dubai Airshow and Gulfood.

inD will launch this year with expected annual revenues of over $650 million and a strong pipeline.

This comes during a “pivotal” moment as Dubai is expanding its event infrastructure – including the Dubai Exhibition Centre expanding to 140,000 sqm of event capacity.

Messe Dusseldorf reaffirms industry leadership position with 2025 financial results

Messe Dusseldorf has reported solid fiscal results for 2025 and looks to continue this momentum this year.

The trade show organizer sees this as reaffirming its position as an industry leader and powerful economic driver for the region.

The global group – including nine international subsidiaries – generated approximately €370 million in sales.

Wolfram Diener, CEO of Messe Dusseldorf, said: “By constantly evolving our portfolio, expanding into the global economy’s growth markets and investing in our Dusseldorf Exhibition Center, we ensure that we remain relevant to our customers while boosting the international competitiveness of both our company and the Dusseldorf trade fair hub.”

The organizer has attributed its continued global expansion as key to this success, staging 81 trade shows internationally last year.

It now aims to continue building on this success throughout 2026 and 2027 with seven premieres in Dusseldorf and five new formats across the Gulf.

UFI appoints Raya Al Taher as new research coordinator

UFI has announced the appointment of Raya Al Taher as research coordinator.

Raya will work with the research team to conduct analyses that support the association’s strategic insights for the events industry.

Such research projects will include – the Global Exhibitors and Visitors insights, the World Map of Venues and the Global Exhibition Barometer.

Adeline Vancauwelaert, COO of UFI, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Raya Al Taher as Research Coordinator.

“Research is one of UFI’s key pillars and having her on the team will help us continue to provide informed decision-making to our members and the wider global exhibition community.”

Raya brings a data-driven background and a PhD in digital marketing to the role.

The global association of the exhibition industry plans to utilize her expertise in survey design, market research and analysis to support strategic decision-making.

Raya will also provide technical support in collecting, validating and interoperating data.

Kai Hattendorf provides insights into the event industry’s AI perception gap

Kai Hattendorf has shared his insights about new survey findings in the Event Tech Forecast 2026.

The ExpoPlatform study cites a large majority (74%) of respondents from the events industry position themselves as ahead of the tech innovation curve – yet almost half admit that AI has had little impact on business operations.

Kai, partner at jwc GmbH, determines this stems from a need to be seen as AI advanced amid a strong period of global acquisitions in the industry. Get the full interview with Kai here.