AI, Event-Led Growth and Sustainability Take Center Stage at Cvent Accelerate Dubai 2025

Cvent Accelerate Dubai 2025: AI, Event-Led Growth, and Sustainability Set the Pace

Cvent hosted the third edition of Cvent Accelerate Dubai at Atlantis - The Palm on 17 September 2025, drawing a record crowd of about 500 planners, marketers, and hospitality leaders. The strong turnout signals rising momentum across the region's MICE market.

The program focused on what matters most right now: smarter use of technology, clear business outcomes, and measurable sustainability. The message was practical-use data, design for impact, and build systems that scale.

AI in Action: From Planning to Personalisation

Sessions showed how AI can shorten planning cycles, sharpen targeting, and personalise attendee journeys without adding headcount. Teams saw how to use AI to improve content, automate outreach, and streamline onsite operations.

• Planning: automate timelines, budgets, vendor comparisons, and risk checks.
• Marketing: segment audiences, generate assets, and improve conversion with real-time testing.
• Experience: personalise agendas, recommendations, and support across channels.
• Operations: forecast demand, optimise staffing, and reduce waste across services.

Creative Event Design That Sticks

Speakers pushed for multi-sensory, immersive formats that make content memorable and participation easy. The takeaway: treat events like products-prototype, test, and iterate to raise engagement and keep attention.

Event-Led Growth: Make Events a Revenue Engine

Event-Led Growth (ELG) took center stage, showing how events can drive pipeline, revenue, and loyalty when tied directly to business goals. The focus was on outcomes, not activity.

• Set clear targets: sourced pipeline, influenced revenue, deal velocity, and retention.
• Map content to personas and buying stages; connect sessions to next-step offers.
• Standardise planning and data flows across field, hosted, and partner events.
• Build dashboards that combine registration, engagement, and CRM impact.
• Tighten collaboration between venues, organisers, and suppliers through shared tech and data.

Sustainability With Real Numbers

Cvent partnered with ZEERO Events to plant 287 mangrove trees in Mozambique, estimated to cut 47 tons of CO2e. An additional 104 trees were gifted to attendees via eco-friendly tree swag, reducing emissions by 17,066 kg.

Beyond offsets, sessions stressed operational changes-material choices, menu design, logistics, and measurement frameworks-guided by standards such as ISO 20121. For context on why mangroves matter for carbon storage, see the IUCN overview.

Industry Voice

Gokul Bajaj, Country Head, UAE at Cvent, noted that the industry is moving from logistics-first execution to experience-led programs, with AI extending creative range and operational speed. He highlighted the UAE's openness to new technology and the role of this community in sharing ideas and solving common challenges.

About Cvent

Founded in 1999, Cvent employs 5,000+ professionals and serves more than 24,000 customers worldwide as of the end of 2024. Its platform supports event marketing, planning, and management while connecting organisers and venues through a global marketplace.

What You Can Do Next

• Audit your event tech stack; identify 2-3 AI use cases to pilot in the next quarter.
• Define ELG metrics and build a shared dashboard with sales, marketing, and ops.
• Adopt a sustainability checklist covering sourcing, F&B, travel, and waste measurement.
• Upskill your team on AI workflows for planning, content, and analytics. Explore practical certifications for marketers and planners here.
• Strengthen collaboration with venues and suppliers through shared data standards and post-event reviews.

Cvent Accelerate Dubai 2025 showed how AI, ELG, and sustainability can work together to deliver better experiences and measurable business results. The momentum is clear-and the playbook is actionable.