Starting this Friday, diplomats, dealmakers, tourism boards, different government agencies, artists and musicians will fly in from around the world to participate in $7bn Expo in Dubai as the city has stuck to its target of 25 million visits – both virtually and in person.
One year after the pandemic forced a delay, Dubai is set to open its $7 billion Expo on a desert site the size of 600 football fields.
Starting Friday, diplomats, dealmakers, artists and musicians will fly in from around the world. The city has stuck to its target of 25 million visits – both virtually and in person – and at a time when travel restrictions have slowed business across financial centres, the six-month long exhibition may even help to create a template for others to follow.
For now, employment numbers at least are looking up. The city’s flagship airline is planning to recruit thousands over the next six months and hoteliers are adding jobs.
The event may also help lay a platform to reverse last year’s steep population decline, which the government is trying to address through programs to lure foreigners.
Alyousuf of IAG said the Expo will encourage more high-net worth individuals to either move to the city or establish a second base.
“Although footfall is the most visible and easy to measure sign of success, there are other benefits that are harder to visualise and accrue over a number of years,”.
Scott Livermore, Chief economist for Oxford Economics Middle East in Dubai said, “Benefits also accrue through marketing Dubai and a successful Expo can create and help sustain a perception about Dubai as a place to live, work and invest.”
And as the skyscraper-studded emirate looks to defend its status as the Middle East’s leading business hub amid growing competition from Riyadh, it can now lay claim to having hosted the Arab world’s first expo.
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