GITEX Global visitor guide: dates, venues, badges and where to stay

When and where is GITEX Global 2026?

The GITEX dates for 2026 are 7 to 11 December, a five-day event split across two venues 40 km apart. Old guides that put the whole show at Dubai World Trade Centre in October describe the editions up to 2025.

Part	Dates	Venue	Metro station
GITEX Summit	Monday 7 December 2026	Dubai World Trade Centre, Sheikh Zayed Road	World Trade Centre, Red Line
GITEX Global Expo	Tuesday 8 to Friday 11 December 2026	Dubai Exhibition Centre, Expo City Dubai	Expo 2020, Red Line
Expand North Star	Tuesday 8 to Thursday 10 December 2026	Expo City Dubai	Expo 2020, Red Line
Opening hours	Not yet published on gitex.com
GITEX 2027	Not yet announced

All of the above was checked on gitex.com and expandnorthstar.com on 17 October 2026. Our Dubai and UAE events calendar shows what else is on that week.

Summit day and Expo days: what happens on each

The Summit, 7 December, is a single conference day at DWTC. It sits in the city, about 15 km from DXB Terminal 3, with the Metro station beside the halls. If you only attend the Summit, you never need to go to Expo City.

The Expo, 8 to 11 December, is the exhibition itself, at the Dubai Exhibition Centre, which has a North Hall block and a South Hall block. gitex.com also lists themed shows under the GITEX name, such as GITEX Agentix, GITEX Quantum Expo and GITEX SUPER COMPUTEX. The page does not say which run in December, so check your ticket.

The practical point: the Summit and the Expo need different travel plans. Monday is a city-centre day, and Tuesday to Friday are Dubai South days.

Why did GITEX move from DWTC to Expo City Dubai?

Dubai Media Office announced the move on 8 October 2025. It gave three reasons:

• It places GITEX in December, in the middle of Dubai’s tourism season.
• It brings GITEX Global and Expand North Star back together on one site.
• It supports the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33.

The Dubai Exhibition Centre is also being expanded. Media Office values that expansion at USD 2.7 billion and says it will be the region’s largest purpose-built indoor events venue.

For visitors, the move adds distance. The previous edition ran at DWTC from 13 to 17 October 2025. The Expo halls are now about 40 km south of DWTC, around 37 minutes without traffic, via Al Khail Road (E44) and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road (E311).

Registration, badges and visitor passes

Tickets are sold at visit.gitex.com. The gitex.com event page also links to:

• Group booking.
• Delegate registration.
• Media registration.
• The GITEX Connect buyer programme.
• Stand booking for exhibitors.

When we checked, the organiser had not published ticket tiers, prices, age limits or how badges are collected. Before you book travel, check which days and which venue your pass covers, since the Summit and the Expo are in different places.

The organiser’s visit page also runs a visa support desk. Our guide to UAE visas explains the rules by nationality, with each one linked to its official source.

Expand North Star and the other events in GITEX week

Expand North Star, 8 to 10 December 2026, is the startup and investor event from the same organiser, at Expo City Dubai. Its site says the 2025 edition brought about 2,000 startups and 1,200 investors. It ends a day before the GITEX Expo, so a Friday at Expo City is GITEX only.

The rest of the week is crowded:

• Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, 4 to 6 December, on Yas Island, the weekend before GITEX.
• Dubai Shopping Festival, from 4 December 2026 to 17 January 2027, across Dubai’s malls.
• Tourism season. Media Office placed GITEX in December to sit in the middle of it, so book your hotel as soon as you have a ticket.

If you fly in for the Grand Prix and stay for GITEX, plan the Sunday night move from Abu Dhabi to Dubai in advance.

Where to stay for GITEX: near Expo City or in the city

Drive times to the Dubai Exhibition Centre from OSRM routing on OpenStreetMap, without traffic:

Stay in	Road distance	Without traffic
Al Maktoum International (DWC) area, Dubai South	about 21 km	about 28 minutes
Dubai Marina or JBR	about 20 km	about 22 minutes
Palm Jumeirah	about 26 km	about 26 minutes
Downtown Dubai	about 37 km	about 34 minutes
Sheikh Zayed Road, near DWTC	about 40 km	about 37 minutes
Sharjah city centre	about 63 km	about 50 minutes
Abu Dhabi city centre	about 111 km	about 1 hour 11 minutes

Dubai Marina and JBR give the shortest drive to the Expo halls while keeping the city close. A Sheikh Zayed Road hotel suits Summit day. If you attend both, one hotel and a car for the week saves a second check-in.

The organiser’s hotel service lists more than 80 partner hotels in Dubai, with free daily shuttles to the venue. Shuttle times are set by each hotel.

Getting there: Metro, parking and drop-off

By Metro, ride the Red Line to Expo 2020 station, then walk 5 to 10 minutes to the halls. Board the train marked for Expo 2020, because two Red Line trains can use the same platform. Drivers from the city can use Park and Ride at Centrepoint, e&, National Paints or the Al Kifaf car park by Max station.

By car, visitor parking is in zones P1 to P5, with Mobility Parking and Airshow Overflow Parking taking the overflow by shuttle. Charges were not published when we checked.

By taxi or chauffeur, private cars set down only at designated points, including the South Drop-Off. Taxis work from the Transportation Hub. Direct shuttles also link DWTC and the Expo halls.

Every pickup point and car option for the week is on our GITEX chauffeur page. The Expo City parking guide covers the car parks across the whole site, and Summit-day parking is in our DWTC drop-off guide.

Flying in for GITEX: DXB or DWC

Al Maktoum International (DWC) is about 21 km from the Expo halls. The Dubai Exhibition Centre’s own FAQ notes that it serves a limited number of commercial flights, so most visitors land at Dubai International (DXB). From DXB Terminal 3, the Expo halls are about 52 km and roughly 43 minutes without traffic.

Your chauffeur meets you in the arrivals hall with your name on a board at either airport. See pickups at Dubai International and Al Maktoum International arrivals.

GITEX week checklist

1. Book your ticket at visit.gitex.com and note whether it covers the Summit, the Expo or both.
2. Pick a hotel for the days you attend most: city for the Summit, Dubai Marina or Dubai South for the Expo.
3. Get a Nol card. The organiser suggests a Silver or Gold card for several days.
4. Save the South Drop-Off as your car meeting point, and agree a pickup time with your driver each morning.
5. Check gitex.com in the week before. The organiser says parking, routes and shuttles may change.
6. For a stand team, book the vans or coaches early. Our corporate transport runs monthly accounts, and a car with driver by the hour covers a day of meetings between DWTC and Expo City.