Gulfood 2027 transport guide: getting between DWTC and Expo City

Gulfood 2027 runs 15–19 March 2027 across two venues: Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) on Sheikh Zayed Road and Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC) at Expo City Dubai. Halls open 10:00–18:00 from 15 to 18 March and 10:00–17:00 on 19 March. Plan transport per venue, and keep one car free for the drive between them.

Two venues is what sets Gulfood (and World Health Expo) apart from most shows in Dubai. A buyer with meetings in both can lose half a day in transit if the plan is wrong. We run exhibition and conference transport for trade delegations, and this guide covers how we’d plan Gulfood week around both sites.

When and where is Gulfood 2027?

The organiser, Gulfood, confirms 15–19 March 2027 across Dubai World Trade Centre and Dubai Exhibition Centre, and those dates still stood when we checked on 17 October 2026. That’s a change of month: Gulfood 2026 ran 26–30 January 2026 and Gulfood 2025 ran 17–21 February 2025, so don’t reuse an old hotel plan.

Edition	Dates	Venues	Status
Gulfood 2026	26–30 January 2026	DWTC and DEC	Held
Gulfood 2027	15–19 March 2027	DWTC and DEC, Expo City Dubai	Confirmed by the organiser
Gulfood 2028	Not announced yet	Not announced	Usually January to March (26–30 Jan 2026, 15–19 Mar 2027)

The 2027 day-by-day hours:

Day	Date	Opening hours	Venues
Monday	15 March 2027	10:00–18:00	DWTC and DEC
Tuesday	16 March 2027	10:00–18:00	DWTC and DEC
Wednesday	17 March 2027	10:00–18:00	DWTC and DEC
Thursday	18 March 2027	10:00–18:00	DWTC and DEC
Friday	19 March 2027	10:00–17:00	DWTC and DEC

At DWTC, the Dubai World Trade Centre listing for Gulfood 2027 lists the whole campus, from Sheikh Saeed Halls and Za’abeel Halls to Halls 1–8, and marks the show trade only. Which sectors sit in which venue for 2027 hadn’t been published by the organiser when we checked on 17 October 2026. Check your badge and the floor plan before you decide where to stay.

Don’t confuse Gulfood with Gulfood Manufacturing, a separate show held at DWTC on 3–5 November 2026; our Gulfood Manufacturing transport guide covers that week. And note the week after Gulfood: the Dubai World Cup is on Saturday 27 March 2027. Our Dubai events calendar lists everything else that season.

Who attends Gulfood?

Gulfood is a trade show for the food and beverage supply chain: producers, exporters, importers, distributors, and retail and hospitality buyers. Visitors register for a trade badge through the organiser. Delegations often come in teams, with different people covering different halls, which is why transport needs planning per person, not per company.

How do you get to Gulfood: car, metro or taxi?

The two venues work differently, so treat them as two separate trips.

	Dubai World Trade Centre	Dubai Exhibition Centre, Expo City
Location	Sheikh Zayed Road, Trade Centre district	Expo City Dubai, Dubai South
Metro	World Trade Center station, Red Line (DWTC’s own station)	Expo 2020 station, Red Line (at the heart of Expo City)
Parking	Paid multi-storey car parks around the campus, free parking opposite the Convention Tower; valet only for certain events	More than 2,300 visitor bays, free for events, with shuttles to the Arrivals Plaza
Road access	Direct from Sheikh Zayed Road	Expo Road (E77) off E311 and D54
Drive from Downtown	Short hop	Around 30 minutes, according to Expo City Dubai

Moving between DWTC and DEC

For the January 2026 edition, free shuttle buses ran between DWTC and DEC and visitors to both venues were pointed to the Dubai Metro, and inside Expo City shuttles linked the DEC car parks with the Arrivals Plaza. The organiser hasn’t published the 2027 shuttle plan yet, so treat 2026 as the model to expect, not a promise.

By car, the DWTC–DEC transfer is the leg we most recommend chauffeuring. Between the two venues you lose time in two drop-off queues and two walks, so plan one crossing a day at most.

By metro

Both venues are on the Red Line. Trains signed for Expo 2020 run through World Trade Center station to Expo City without a change; trains signed for Life Pharmacy don’t go there. RTA’s metro timetable runs trains from 5am to midnight Monday to Thursday and Saturday, until 1am on Friday, and from 8am on Sunday. Gulfood 2027 runs Monday to Friday, so the Friday close gets the late service. The metro works well for one-venue days. For days split between both sites, the long ride and the walks at each end add up.

Drop-off, pickup and where chauffeurs wait

At DWTC, your drop-off depends on the hall. Gulfood’s DWTC visitor FAQ points drivers to Sheikh Rashid Tower parking for Halls 1–4, and to Exhibition Street or Exhibition Plaza parking for Sheikh Maktoum Hall, Sheikh Rashid Hall and Halls 5–8, with Al Mustaqbal Street parking the one most directly linked to the halls. Valet runs only for certain events, so don’t count on it. Our DWTC parking guide goes hall by hall.

At DEC, everything funnels into the Arrivals Plaza, which the DEC venue guide describes as the way into the North and South Halls. Gulfood’s DEC visitor FAQ puts the taxi and car drop-off on Boulevard 2020 Street, at the signed Taxi/Car drop-off area, and Expo 2020 station is a few minutes’ walk away.

Drop-off lanes are for stopping only. Your chauffeur drops you, moves to the visitor parking or a marshalled holding area, and comes back to an agreed pickup point when you call. For evening pickups we set that point in the morning and have the car in position before closing time.

Traffic windows to avoid during Gulfood week

• DWTC mornings. Sheikh Zayed Road around the Trade Centre area is slow in the morning peak even without a show. Be dropped before 10:00 opening, not at it.
• Closing time at both venues. 18:00 on the first four days, 17:00 on Friday. The first hour after closing is the worst time to call a car to either site.
• The cross-venue run at lunch. Everyone has the same idea. Move between venues mid-morning or mid-afternoon instead.
• Evening dinners in DIFC or Downtown. From DEC, leave before the evening peak or book the table later.

How to plan multi-day Gulfood transport

1. Map people to venues. List who is at DWTC and who is at DEC each day. That list decides the cars.
2. Choose the car for the group. Up to three people per business sedan, up to six in a V-Class with chauffeur or large SUV. Samples and display boxes need boot space; tell us.
3. Keep one car flexible. A car on hourly hire can do the DWTC–DEC crossing whenever a meeting moves.
4. Stay near your main venue. If your stand is at DEC, a hotel near the city end means a long run four or five mornings running. Our guide on how to get to Expo City Dubai explains the approach roads.
5. Book departures now. If you fly on 19 or 20 March, remember that Al Maktoum Airport (DWC) is close to DEC, while DXB is on the far side of the city.

Frequently asked questions

When and where is Gulfood 2027?

Gulfood 2027 runs 15–19 March 2027 at Dubai World Trade Centre and Dubai Exhibition Centre in Expo City Dubai. Opening hours are 10:00–18:00 from Monday to Thursday and 10:00–17:00 on Friday 19 March, according to the organiser.

When and where was Gulfood 2026 held?

Gulfood 2026 ran 26–30 January 2026 and was co-hosted at Dubai World Trade Centre and Dubai Exhibition Centre in Expo City Dubai, with free shuttle buses running between the two venues. The 2027 edition moves to 15–19 March, on the same two sites.

When is Gulfood 2028?

Not announced yet. The last three editions ran 17–21 February 2025, 26–30 January 2026 and 15–19 March 2027, so expect a first-quarter date. We’ll add it here when the organiser publishes it; don’t book non-refundable hotels for 2028 before then.

How do I travel between the two Gulfood venues?

In 2026, free shuttle buses linked DWTC and DEC, and both venues sit on the Red Line. By chauffeur, the drive runs south from Sheikh Zayed Road to Expo City, which Expo City Dubai puts at around 30 minutes from Downtown. Plan one crossing a day and avoid the lunch rush and closing time.

Which metro station do I use for Gulfood?

Use World Trade Center station on the Red Line for Dubai World Trade Centre and Expo 2020 station, on the Red Line’s Expo City branch, for Dubai Exhibition Centre. Check which venue your meetings are in before you set off.

Is Gulfood Manufacturing the same event as Gulfood?

No. Gulfood Manufacturing is a separate trade show, held at DWTC on 3–5 November 2026. Gulfood itself, the food and beverage sourcing show, runs 15–19 March 2027 across DWTC and Expo City.