Gulfood 2027 transport guide: getting between DWTC and Expo City
Gulfood 2027 runs 15–19 March across DWTC and Dubai Exhibition Centre. How to reach both venues, move between them and plan delegate cars for five days.
Chauffeur operations specialist, Dubai · Updated · 7 min read
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. That’s a change of month: Gulfood 2026 ran 26–30 January 2026, and it was the first mega-show hosted in the newly expanded DEC.
| 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 |
Which sectors sit in which venue for 2027 hadn’t been published when we wrote this. 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. 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 | 7,530 spaces across six paid and two free car parks, plus valet | More than 2,300 visitor bays in zones P1 to P5, 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, DWTC and RTA ran a dedicated express shuttle network of 30 buses between the two venues, park-and-ride at e&, Centrepoint, National Paints and Al Kifaf metro stations, and 80 continuous shuttle services inside Expo City between the car parks and the halls. The Red Line also ran more frequent trains to Expo 2020 station. The organiser hasn’t published the 2027 plan yet, but that’s the model we expect.
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 runs the metro from 5am to midnight Monday to Thursday and until 1am on Friday. 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. Halls 1 to 8 are reached from Concourse 1 and Concourse 2 (Convention Gate and Exhibition Gate sit at either end of Concourse 2), with multi-storey parking on Happiness Street and Exhibitions Street. Sheikh Saeed Halls sit steps from the metro station and have their own valet points. Za’abeel Halls have direct access from the main road with separate parking and valet. Our DWTC parking guide goes hall by hall.
At DEC, cars use the drop-off area signed for the show near the Arrivals Plaza, which the DEC venue guide describes as the main entrance to the North and South Halls. Pavilion space added in the 2026 expansion connects on foot to Expo City’s Al Wasl area and Expo 2020 station.
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
- Map people to venues. List who is at DWTC and who is at DEC each day. That list decides the cars.
- 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.
- Keep one car flexible. A car on hourly hire can do the DWTC–DEC crossing whenever a meeting moves.
- 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.
- 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. It was the first mega-show held in DEC after its Phase 1 expansion, with shuttle buses running between the two venues.
How do I travel between the two Gulfood venues?
In 2026, a dedicated express shuttle network linked DWTC and DEC, with park-and-ride at four metro stations. By chauffeur, the drive runs south from Sheikh Zayed Road to Expo City. 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 alongside Gulf Host and Private Label Middle East. Gulfood itself, the food and beverage sourcing show, runs 15–19 March 2027 across DWTC and Expo City.
Written by
Arshad HussainArshad Hussain has run chauffeur and limousine operations in Dubai since 2014: dispatch, fleet allocation, airport pickups and event transport.
LinkedIn