GITEX digital business card plan for 2026: exhibitors and visitors

--- A GITEX digital business card plan comes down to three things: a card that is ready before the doors open, a QR code or NFC tap that works in a crowded hall, and a follow-up routine that starts the same day. GITEX Global 2026 is scheduled for 7 to 11 December at Expo City Dubai, according to the organiser's own website, so there is time to prepare properly. This guide separates what we could verify about the show from what you should confirm yourself, then gives exhibitors and visitors a practical setup using a MyInfo card, without promising anything the product does not do.

What we verified about GITEX Global 2026

Dates and venues are the details most likely to change, so we checked them against the organiser's website rather than trusting second-hand posts. The GITEX site lists GITEX Global 2026 for 7 to 11 December 2026 at Expo City Dubai. It describes a one-day summit on 7 December and the main exhibition from 8 to 11 December. Visitor tickets are handled on the organiser's visitor site, and exhibitor stand bookings go through the organiser's booking page, both linked from gitex.com.

The venue is a change. Technology news site The Recursive, writing in May 2026, reported that GITEX Global is moving to the Dubai Exhibition Centre at Expo City from its long-time home at Dubai World Trade Centre, and listed co-located programmes including Expand North Star for startups and investors, a Physical AI robotics area, GITEX New Energy and Move, and AI Everything. It also repeated the organiser's expectation that more than 60 percent of attendees would be senior decision makers. That is an organiser expectation reported by a third party, not an audited figure, so we treat it as marketing, not fact.

One caution: a Dubai events calendar published by Khaleej Times in August 2026 lists the GITEX Global Summit at different dates from the ones on the organiser's site, while agreeing on 8 to 11 December for the main show at the Dubai Exhibition Centre. Calendars drift. Before you book flights, stands or hotels, confirm every date and hall on gitex.com and in your exhibitor or visitor confirmation. We will not assert anything more precise than that.

Other UAE shows this season

GITEX is the biggest tech date, but it is not the only one on the calendar, and a card you build for one show works at all of them. The same Khaleej Times calendar, published on 19 August 2026, lists several upcoming Dubai events. Treat these as pointers, and check each organiser's site for current dates.

WETEX is listed for 20 to 22 October at Dubai World Trade Centre. Automechanika Dubai is listed for 10 to 12 November at the Dubai Exhibition Centre. Big 5 Global is listed for 23 to 26 November at Dubai World Trade Centre. The calendar also names Gulfood Manufacturing, GESS and other events in November without dates in our source, and a Dubai AI Festival and Beautyworld in October. Arabian Travel Market and GISEC were listed in September and have already passed.

If your business is not in tech, one of those may suit you better than GITEX. If you work in construction, the Big 5 matters; in automotive, Automechanika; in education, GESS. The setup below applies to all of them. For general habits, read how to network at events in Dubai without losing contacts and our page on digital business cards for events and networking.

Why an exhibition is a card problem

At an exhibition you meet dozens of people in a few hours, in noise, often standing, with a lanyard, a coffee and a phone. A paper card has to be found, handed over, then typed into someone's phone days later, if at all. The biggest loss in event networking is not meeting the wrong people. It is losing the right ones between the stand and the follow-up.

A digital card solves the handover and the data entry together. A visitor scans a code or taps a card, your page opens with your name, role, company and links, and a Save Contact button adds you to their phone in one tap. We describe what happens on the other side in what happens when someone taps your card. In a crowded hall, speed matters because the conversation may last a minute.

Exhibitors: build the card before the show

Start now. It is early October, and the show is about two months away, which is enough time to do this calmly.

Create a dedicated event card. Rather than changing your main card for a week, duplicate it and give the copy a clean address for the show, such as the company name plus the event. Duplicating copies content and theme, and the new card starts on the free plan, as explained in duplicate a card for a second business. A separate card also gives you clean numbers afterwards if you use analytics; see which events give you the most card views.

Lead with the offer. Put the stand number, the hall and one clear action at the top of the About text: book a demo, download the brochure, or message you on WhatsApp. People scan with limited attention. Keep the card to your name, role, company and a few links, as covered in what to put on a digital business card.

Add both languages. Many visitors to a Dubai show read Arabic, English or both. One card can hold both, as explained in Arabic and English on one card.

Give every team member a card. If five people staff your stand, each should have their own card so a visitor connects with the person they met. See create a card for someone else or your team, and use one shared theme so all five look like one company.

Exhibitors: set up the stand

The stand is where QR codes fail most often. They are printed too small, placed too low, or put behind a glossy panel that reflects the exhibition lighting.

Make the QR code big. A common rule of thumb is that the scanning distance should be no more than about ten times the code's width. A visitor standing a metre from a stand wall needs a code roughly 10 centimetres across; one scanning from five metres away needs about 50. QR Planet states the same 10 to 1 ratio. A business-card sized code is about 3 centimetres, as noted on our QR code business card page, and that is for a card held in a hand, not a wall.

Leave a margin. The QR standard, ISO/IEC 18004, requires a blank border around the code at least four modules wide. Do not crowd the code with a logo, a frame or text. The size and placement rules are in print your QR code business card.

Add a short call to action. A line like "Scan to save our contact" tells people why to scan.

Use an NFC stand on the counter. An NFC card or stand lets a visitor tap a phone instead of aiming a camera. MyInfo does not sell NFC hardware; partners across the UAE supply NFC cards and stands and can set up the link. Ask early, because suppliers can be busy before big shows. See where to get NFC cards and upgrade to Premium and questions to ask before you buy an NFC business card in Dubai.

Test in the hall. Scan with an iPhone and an Android phone from the distance visitors will stand, under the stand's lighting. Exhibition lights and glossy panels can wash out a code that works fine at your desk.

Exhibitors: capture leads and follow up

A scan only helps if you can act on it. MyInfo's free card lets visitors save your contact. To receive their details too, you need Premium, which adds an Exchange Contact form, a lead inbox and CSV export; see lead capture and capture leads from your digital business card. Premium is unlocked with a licence PIN from a partner, with no price shown online, so ask for a quote with enough time to activate it before the show; the steps are in activate a licence PIN. Plans apply per card, so you can upgrade just the event card.

Be clear about what MyInfo does not do. It does not scan event badges or read the organiser's registration data. If the show offers badge scanning, that is the organiser's own system and you should ask them what it costs and what you receive. A MyInfo card works alongside that.

When you collect personal details from visitors, handle them lawfully. The UAE's personal data protection law applies to what you collect and keep, so be transparent about why you want it and do not add people to marketing lists without a basis. We cover this in PDPL and your digital business card.

After the show, work fast. Open your lead inbox the same day, export the list and import it into your CRM; see export your leads and import into your CRM. Then follow up within 24 hours while the conversation is still fresh, as described in follow up with new contacts within 24 hours.

Visitors: a plan for a four-day show

If you are visiting rather than exhibiting, your card still matters. You will meet founders, buyers and recruiters in queues, at talks and in corridors.

Before you go, create your free card and check it on your phone. Make sure your photo is clear, your role is current and your WhatsApp link works. Put your goal in your About text if it helps, such as "looking for logistics partners". A visitor does not need Premium; the free card includes sharing by link, QR code and NFC, and a Save Contact button.

Put your QR code where you can reach it fast. Save it as a favourite photo or set it as your lock screen, as in QR code on a phone lock screen or badge. That saves you scrolling through screenshots while someone waits. If your badge has space for a QR code, follow the size and margin rules above.

Charge your phone and carry a power bank, because you will use it constantly. Mobile data can be patchy in crowded halls, so keep your QR code and a short link ready, and offer to message your card address on WhatsApp if a scan fails; see how to share a digital business card on WhatsApp.

At the end of each day, note who you met while you still remember them, and save the contacts from their cards. After the show, send a short message within a day. Politeness matters in the UAE, so read business card etiquette in the UAE.

What a card does not do

A digital business card is a good handover tool. It is not a substitute for the work around it.

It will not make a poorly staffed stand busy. It will not replace the organiser's badge-scanning system if you need what that gives you. It cannot make people scan, and a QR code on a wall nobody can see is worthless. And it cannot control a phone that has no signal: a card page needs data on the visitor's phone to load, so a plan B, like Save Contact via an NFC tap or a message on WhatsApp, helps.

A countdown checklist from today

With roughly two months to go, here is a simple order of work.

Eight weeks out: confirm dates and halls on gitex.com, create your card or duplicate it for the event, and ask a partner about NFC stands and Premium.

Six weeks out: finish your bilingual text and links, give every team member a card with a shared theme, and decide on your stand QR code size.

Four weeks out: order printing and NFC stands, activate Premium on the event card if you need it, and test the card on several phones.

One week out: print a spare QR code, set your lock screen, charge devices and brief your team on one sentence to say when handing over the card.

During the show: show or tap, save contacts, and check leads at the end of each day.

After the show: export, import, follow up within 24 hours, and review what worked.

Frequently asked questions

When and where is GITEX Global 2026?

According to the organiser's website, GITEX Global 2026 runs from 7 to 11 December 2026 at Expo City Dubai, with a one-day summit on 7 December and the main exhibition from 8 to 11 December. Press reports say the show is moving to the Dubai Exhibition Centre at Expo City. A Dubai events calendar listed different summit dates, so confirm all dates, halls and ticket details on gitex.com or with the organiser before you travel or book a stand.

Do I need Premium to use a MyInfo card at an exhibition?

No. A free card includes a link, a QR code, NFC-tap sharing and a Save Contact button, so visitors can add you to their phones. You need Premium if you want people to send you their details through the Exchange Contact form, with a lead inbox and CSV export, or if you want visit analytics. Partners issue licence PINs, so ask for a quote well before the show and activate it on the event card only.

Ready for December? Create your free digital business card now, and have it tested long before the doors open.