Expo 2020 to ‘bring back business tourism’ to Dubai, says Dubai Properties

Dubai world expo 2020 will be the first large-scale international event that could lead to a boost in the city’s business tourism. While the business tourism sector, which has seen a slowdown in recent years, will grow at the same pace as tourism in the emirate. The UAE should be proud of it.

Dubai has seen an upsurge in leisure [tourism] and a fall in business tourism, Dubai has a bright future in the business tourism sector, despite being a relatively young destination. So Expo 2020 might actually prove to be a turning point and we might see an increase in business tourism again. Winning the bid to host the Expo 2020 in Dubai proved to organizers that it can host large-scale events.

The six-month-long exhibition will be a centre of opportunity for trade and innovation from all corners of the world. This event will transform the Emirates and especially Dubai, into a huge showcase comprising the finest examples of global products.

An event of such enormousness will also bring innumerable advantages for Dubai, especially for its real estate sector which is on the brink of revival.

To ensure the escalation of the business tourism sector in Dubai, the Dubai Convention Bureau’s strategy planned to increase the emirate’s market share of global events that are hosted in different countries each year. Furthermore, the bureau tries to increase the number of delegates attending those events.

The third-largest global event, Expo 2020 will act as a powerful economic and cultural uplift for the host country. Some official statistics revealed that between 25 million to 30 million visitors are expected to arrive in Dubai.

In fact, according to the Tourism and Culture Authority Abu Dhabi, Dh 2.4 billion is currently generated by the meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions sector per annum for Abu Dhabi. The target is set to grow by seven per cent to reach Dh5.1 billion by 2020.

Hilton’s president of global development, architecture, design and construction said he is hopeful and expect an expansion in market activity following Expo 2020.

Ian Carter said visitor will continue to fly to the city subsequent the six-month event, which is due to catch the attention of an expected 25 million visitors.