Dubai tourism backs emirati gaming convention

Dubai Tourism has recently backed an event which has shown it has the real potential to attract high numbers of overseas visitors in the next few years. 

Last weekend (September 10th - 12th), the Games 15 consumer video game show came to Dubai Marina, bringing gamers based in Dubai the chance to see what the popular industry will be releasing in the coming months and years. 

Of more importance to the tourism sector, however, will be the impressive attendance at the show. Over the weekend, the event brought more than 20,000 gamers through its doors, exhibiting a real potential to become an important tourist event in coming years. 

One of the major factors in making the event a success was the Electronic Sports League (ESL), where teams from around the world went head to head to win a cash price. It was this aspect of the event that the organisers said could become the future of this industry in Dubai. 

Middle East Film and Comic Con said the chance to play in the ESL could bring many people from across the globe to Dubai for the purposes of competing. 

"We have had a lot of support from Dubai Tourism, so they have seen the wider potential in the gaming industry,” said Arafaat Ali Khan, PR director for Middle East Film and Comic Con. 

“It has once again put Dubai on the world stage and opened up the region to another demographic who may not have considered visiting before.”

And with some 300,000 people from around the world having watched gamers compete for the prize at peak times over the weekend, it's clear that there is an audience around the world for future events, and a real potential for bringing more and more visitors from other nations to Dubai in the next few years.