Exhibition visitor shuttle in Dubai, and stand crews.

Start with the organiser, not the calendar

We do not state show dates, opening hours or entry rules, because the organiser sets them and they change. Before you plan transport, get four facts from the organiser or venue: build-up days, show days, daily opening and closing times, and the drop-off points for coaches. Send those to us and we price against them.

This protects you from planning a shuttle around a time that moves. If the organiser shifts an opening by an hour, tell us and the driver follows the new time.

Visitors and exhibitors want different things

Starting prices are on the price page. The quote confirms the exact price for your dates, route and hours.

The visitor loop

A visitor shuttle runs between hotels and the show. Choose a small number of hotels as pick-up points, and run coaches on a fixed pattern during the morning, with a return pattern late afternoon and evening. Visitors who miss one coach take the next. A group from one overseas company can ask for its own coach instead.

Do not run a loop for many hotels at once. Each stop adds ten minutes. Two or three stops is a loop. Six is a tour.

Early starts for exhibitors

Exhibitors arrive before visitors, often by an hour or more, to open stands and check supplies. They carry more than visitors do, and they leave later. The best plan is a separate early run in a van or Sprinter, with room for cases. The same vehicle can return at show close, wait for pack-down and take the crew back.

On build-up and pack-down days, loading rules at the venue can be strict, with set windows for vehicles. Ask the organiser, and tell us the window. The exhibitor team guide shows a worked example from a large show, and the same principles apply elsewhere.

Drop-off points and queues

Large halls often have a coach drop-off that is not the main entrance. Visitors then walk, sometimes for several minutes in the heat. Check the walk before you promise it to your delegates. Queues at the end of the day can be long. If you can, set the evening return an hour after closing, and encourage guests to take the later coach.

We cannot promise where venue staff will allow a coach to stop. The driver follows the organiser’s traffic plan.

An example: a 60-visitor group

An example only. An overseas trade delegation of 60 stays in two hotels.

• 08:30: coach 1 and coach 2 leave their hotels, 30 guests each, in mini coaches.
• 09:15: arrival at the drop-off, with the group leader counting heads.
• 17:30: both coaches return guests to the hotels.
• One 13-seater van runs an early exhibitor crew of 8 at 06:30.

Two mini coaches and a van for a show day, all on one written quote.

Evening moves and airport links

Shows have evening events. Receptions, dinners and awards. Those are outside normal hours, so waiting is priced on the quote. For networking moves at large shows, see evening networking transfers, and for general event planning the event transport page.

A visitor group arriving for a show needs the airport first. Our airport transfer service meets flights and takes the group to the hotel. The big group arrival guide explains the hall. Visa questions go to the official ICP and GDRFA sites. We do not sell tickets or stand space.

Samples, brochures and the weight problem

Visitors leave with more than they arrive with. Bags of brochures, product samples, a gift from every stand. A coach that carried a briefcase in the morning carries a heavy bag at night. Tell visitors the bag limit in advance if the coach hold is small, and remind exhibitors that a stand sample case is not a hand bag.

Exhibitors with large crates should not use the visitor shuttle. Send them in the exhibitor van with a driver who knows the loading yard.

Staffing the shuttle stop

A shuttle stop with nobody at it becomes a queue. If your group is large, assign a person at each hotel to check names and wave coaches in. At the show end, a second person points guests to the correct bay. Those two people make the shuttle feel organised, and the cost is far below the cost of a missed meeting.

Weather, season and the walk

In the cooler months, a ten-minute walk from the drop-off is pleasant. In the hotter months, it is not. Ask the organiser for the walking distance and tell your visitors. Bring water, and if the walk is long, ask the venue whether a short internal shuttle runs from the gate.

Seasons and holiday periods vary each year, and so do show calendars. Always check the organiser for what applies to your dates.

Planning the shuttle around the show floor

Visitors rarely arrive at opening and leave at closing. Many come after lunch, some leave early for meetings, and the final hour is busy with people collecting their things. A shuttle built for those patterns runs more often at the start and end and thinly in between.

Ask the organiser for last year’s pattern if the show repeats. They often have a feel for the busy periods even if they cannot share numbers. Use it to decide when to place a second coach.

Ask for the shuttle quote

Send the show name, the organiser’s dates and times, hotel names, headcount and any kit through the booking page. For conference-style events, see delegate transport.

Think about lost property. A shuttle that carries 200 visitors a day sees umbrellas, lanyards and laptop bags left on seats. Ask the driver to check the seats at the end of each run, and give your team a number to call. A forgotten laptop bag that comes back by evening is a small favour that visitors remember.

Plan for different languages. Visitors from many countries read signs differently. A sign with a coach number and a simple arrow works across languages better than a sentence. Brief the staff at each stop with a few phrases, or provide a printed card with the schedule in the main languages of your visitors.

If you also need staff or VIP cars for the show, add them to the same request. One quote with the shuttle, the exhibitor van and a car for senior guests is easier to approve than three separate ones.

Finally, remember that exhibitors sometimes need the vehicle at odd hours. A van that collects the crew at 05:30 and returns at midnight is a long day for a driver. Say so at the quote stage, and we plan a driver rota rather than asking one person to do both ends.

Prices for these vehicles

Starting prices with driver and fuel, within Dubai. Hourly hire has a minimum number of hours, confirmed on your quote. Monthly prices are for a daily staff route; the route, hours and working days are confirmed on your quote. Your written quote gives the exact price for your date and route.

Related: Event & conference transport · Shuttle service · Bus rental prices · Expo City Dubai chauffeur · Get a quote

Keep reading

• Shuttle service: A private shuttle for your hotel, residence, office or venue: a fixed loop, fixed times, a vehicle and driver dedicated to your group.
• GITEX hotel shuttle: A fixed morning and evening shuttle between your hotel and Expo City.
• GITEX exhibitor teams: Early starts, stand build days and late finishes for exhibitor teams.
• Delegate transport: Hotel to venue loops, session-break timings and airport waves for overseas delegates, quoted in writing.
• Staff transport Dubai: Vans, minibuses and 50-seat coaches on planned routes for hotel, office, site and shift teams, quoted per route.
• Wedding guest transport: Coaches and vans for guests flying in to a Dubai wedding: arrivals, hotel to venue shuttles and the late-night return, on one written quote.