One of Dubai’s largest international events, GITEX Global is preparing for one of the most significant changes in its history in 2026. The event will take place from December 7-11, 2026, moving from its long-time home at Dubai World Trade Centre to Dubai Exhibition Centre at Expo City Dubai. The first day will be dedicated to the GITEX Summit, while the main exhibition will run from December 8-11.
The change is about more than moving to a new exhibition venue. GITEX is shifting its 2026 edition into Dubai’s high tourism season and building a broader destination model that combines business travel with accommodation, gastronomy, culture and entertainment. The organiser is positioning this approach under the concept of “TechCation”.
GITEX Has Outgrown a Single Exhibition Venue
The scale the event has reached is one of the main reasons behind the move. GITEX Global 2025 was held across two major venues, Dubai World Trade Centre and Dubai Harbour, and expanded across more than 40 exhibition halls. More than 6,800 exhibiting companies took part in last year’s edition. Around 2,000 of them were startups, while the event brought together participants from 180 countries and approximately 1,200 investors in Dubai. The investors represented a combined $1.1 trillion in assets under management.
In 2025, GITEX Global and startup and investment platform Expand North Star were held at separate locations, splitting visitor, company and investor traffic across two event sites. In 2026, the two events will once again come together at Expo City Dubai.
A $2.7 Billion Expansion Is Behind the New Venue
GITEX’s new home, Dubai Exhibition Centre, is also being expanded to accommodate the growing scale of major events. According to Dubai World Trade Centre, the venue is undergoing an approximately $2.7 billion expansion programme and, once completed, is expected to become the region’s largest purpose-built indoor exhibition and events venue. The investment is not being made for GITEX alone. By moving global-scale events such as GITEX and Gulfood to Expo City, Dubai is positioning the new exhibition centre as a central part of its large-scale events strategy.
GITEX’s move to Expo City in 2026 is therefore more than a change of venue. As the event grows, it will create new accommodation and transport flows while also shifting part of its economic impact to a different area of the city.
The Technology Show Is Becoming Part of the Tourism Season
Another major change for GITEX 2026 is the move from October to December. The organiser directly links the decision to Dubai’s cooler weather, year-end events calendar and high tourism season. Under the new model, the aim is not simply for international technology executives and investors to travel to Dubai for the exhibition and leave. The organiser wants visitors to extend their stays and combine meetings with gastronomy, sport, wellness, culture and wider city experiences.
This approach shows how major business events are becoming more closely integrated with destination economies. GITEX is moving toward a model in which accommodation and spending across the city are consciously built into the event experience, rather than the focus remaining solely on commercial activity inside exhibition halls.
A Five-Day Technology Ecosystem Will Be Built
GITEX 2026 will begin with the GITEX Summit on December 7. Senior executives, government representatives, investors and technology leaders are expected to discuss topics including the AI economy, capital, computing capacity and the emerging technology order. The main exhibition will then take place at Expo City Dubai from December 8-11.
The event’s technology scope also extends well beyond the traditional IT exhibition model. Sectors ranging from artificial intelligence and quantum technologies to biosciences, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing are expected to come together on the same platform. This structure is turning GITEX into more than a large technology exhibition, creating a temporary business ecosystem where companies, investors, startups, public institutions and senior executives gather in one place for several days.
