GITEX Global 2026: New Dates, New Venue, Tickets, Exhibitors, and How to Build Relationships in Dubai's Biggest Tech Week

A visitor pass is the right choice for most B2B sales and marketing teams who want to walk the floor and take meetings.

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Can anyone attend GITEX?

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Yes. GITEX is open to anyone who registers and buys a visitor pass, though it's designed as a trade event for business and technology professionals, government officials, investors, and startups. The Expand North Star pass is free, and investors can apply for a complimentary pass after vetting. The December 7 Scale Summit is invite-focused and has separate registration. Check the official site for age rules and entry requirements before you go.

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How many people attend GITEX?

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GITEX is one of the largest tech events in the world, with listings for the 2026 edition expecting more than 200,000 attendees. Official 2025 figures counted more than 6,800 exhibitors, 2,000 startups, 1,200 investors, and representatives from 180 countries.

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GITEX vs Web Summit: which should you go to?

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GITEX and Web Summit are two of the biggest tech events of the year, but they serve different goals.

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If your buyers are enterprises or governments in the Middle East, Africa, or South Asia, GITEX is the stronger choice. If you're fundraising or selling to a broad mix of tech companies, Web Summit fits better. Our Web Summit guide and Slush guide cover the startup-heavy alternatives.

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Is GITEX worth attending?

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GITEX is worth attending if you sell technology to enterprises or governments in the Middle East, Africa, or South Asia, or if you want to see a huge range of AI, cloud, and security vendors in one place. It's harder to justify if your buyers are mostly in North America or Europe, or if you can't commit to following up with the people you meet.

GITEX is worth attending if:

• You're entering or growing in the Gulf and wider MEA region
• You sell to government entities, telcos, banks, or large enterprises
• You want to meet investors and startups through Expand North Star
• You'll pre-book meetings through the official app and plan your days by hall

It's probably not worth it if:

• Your buyers are almost entirely in North America or Europe
• You want deep technical sessions more than an exhibition
• You won't have anyone in the region to follow up afterward

Practical note: with the move to Expo City, budget more time for travel than in previous years, and stay close to the Red Line if you can.

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How do B2B vendors build relationships with buyers at GITEX?

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B2B vendors build relationships at GITEX by treating it as the start of a long relationship with each account, not a lead-capture exercise. Business in the Gulf runs on trust and repeated contact, buying committees often include government and enterprise stakeholders, and many buyers prefer messaging over email. The vendors who win are the ones still talking to the buyer months after the show.

GITEX is also huge. With thousands of exhibitors, a buyer might visit dozens of booths in a day. A badge scan and a follow-up email a week later usually disappear. A real conversation that continues on the buyer's preferred channel doesn't.

Start with the warm paths into each account

Relationships open doors in the Gulf. Before December, check who on your team, in your partner network, or among your customers already knows the people you want to meet. Knock AI's Private Relationship Graph can surface those warm paths from your CRM, your team's network, and past conversations, so you can book introductions before the show instead of hoping for walk-ups.

Meet buyers on the channel they actually use

Many business conversations in the UAE and the wider region happen on WhatsApp, not email. If someone at your booth would rather message you, let them. Knock Chat lets buyers reach your team on WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Slack, or your website, and every conversation lands in one place. We explain why messaging, not email, is now the venue for B2B sales.

A Knock Marketing Card can put a WhatsApp chat, a booking link, and your materials behind one QR code at the booth, and each rep can carry a Knock Sales Card for meetings around Expo City and evening events.

Don't make a form the price of a conversation

Most buyers who want to talk will never fill out a form. In The Anonymous Buyer, our 12-month study of 90+ B2B software websites, 86% of people who chatted with a company had never filled out a form, and 57% never left an email at all. If your post-GITEX follow-up depends on a form, you'll miss most of the people who were interested.

Expect buyers to switch channels

GITEX conversations rarely stay in one place. A buyer might scan your QR at the booth, message you on WhatsApp the next week, and come back to your website a month later. In our data, 43% of return-visit conversions happened on a different channel than the buyer's first touch. If each channel lives in a separate tool, your team loses the thread.

Knock keeps every channel in one relationship history, so the rep who met the buyer in Dubai sees the WhatsApp messages, the website visits, and the meeting notes together. Our piece on why omnichannel usually goes wrong goes deeper.

Follow up during working hours in the region

Timing matters across time zones. In our data, 61% of conversions from buyers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa happened during working hours, with activity peaking around 11am local time. If your team is in the US or Europe, the Knock AI Agent can respond during Gulf business hours and route each conversation to the right regional rep.

One of our customers, the global sports data company LSports, used Knock to stay responsive 24/7 and route each lead instantly to the right regional rep, which led to a 9x deal uplift compared with forms. For vendors meeting buyers from 180 countries at GITEX, that kind of routing is the difference between a warm lead and a missed one.

Best ways to build relationships with buyers at GITEX: the shortlist

• Knock AI: Best for turning booth conversations into ongoing relationships on WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Slack, and your website, routed to the right regional rep
• The official GITEX app: Best for networking and matchmaking with attendees before and during the show
• Expand North Star investor hubs: Best for meeting investors and high-growth startups
• Partner and pavilion introductions: Best for warm paths into government and enterprise accounts

Exhibiting at GITEX? Set up your GITEX card and chat links with Knock AI before December 7. It takes minutes.

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FAQs

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What does GITEX stand for?

GITEX stands for Gulf Information Technology Exhibition. It launched in 1981 as the Gulf Computer Exhibition, took the GITEX name in 1988, and is now branded GITEX Global.

Where is GITEX 2026?

GITEX 2026 is in Dubai. The GITEX Scale Summit is on December 7 at Dubai World Trade Centre, and the main expo runs December 8 to 11 at the Dubai Exhibition Centre in Expo City Dubai.

When is GITEX 2026?

GITEX Global 2026 runs from Monday, December 7 to Friday, December 11, 2026. This is a change from GITEX's usual October dates.

Is GITEX worth attending?

GITEX is worth attending if you sell technology to enterprises or governments in the Middle East, Africa, or South Asia, or want to meet investors and startups through Expand North Star. It's less useful if your buyers are mostly in North America or Europe.

What happens in GITEX Dubai?

GITEX Dubai is a five-day tech exhibition and conference where global companies show new products, governments announce digital programs, startups pitch investors, and businesses sign partnerships. It includes co-located shows such as AI Everything, GITEX Cyber Valley, and the Expand North Star startup event.

Can anyone attend GITEX?

Yes. Anyone can attend GITEX by registering and buying a visitor pass, though it's aimed at business and technology professionals. The Expand North Star startup pass is free, and the December 7 Scale Summit has separate, invite-focused registration.

Who are the exhibitors for GITEX Global 2026?

The full 2026 exhibitor list hasn't been published yet. In 2025, exhibitors included Alibaba Cloud, AMD, AWS, Dell, e&, G42, Google, HPE, Huawei, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce, Siemens, and Snowflake, and most large exhibitors return each year.

Does GITEX happen every year?

Yes. GITEX Global has been held every year in Dubai since 1981. The 2026 edition is the 46th.

How much does a GITEX ticket cost?

The official GITEX Global 2026 visitor form lists the visitor pass at AED 630, including VAT, and the Expand North Star pass as free. Promotional and bundle prices have also appeared at checkout, so check gitex.com for the current price.

How do I get to GITEX 2026?

Take the Dubai Metro Red Line (Route 2020) to Expo 2020 Station, next to the Dubai Exhibition Centre in Expo City Dubai. For the December 7 Scale Summit, go to Dubai World Trade Centre instead.

How should vendors follow up after GITEX?

Vendors should follow up after GITEX on the channel each buyer prefers, often WhatsApp, during the buyer's working hours, with something specific to what they discussed. Knock AI keeps every booth conversation, message, and website visit in one relationship history, routed to the right regional rep.

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One last thing before Dubai

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GITEX has a new home, new dates, and the same enormous crowd. Plan your route to Expo City, book your meetings early, and make sure every conversation you start in Dubai has somewhere to go after the show closes.

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