Expo 2020 Dubai is all set to propel Dubai’s business sector into a new era, hustling city into “another big paradigm shift”, a senior executive with Dubai Chamber said. He added that tourism too is going to see a sharp boost.

Previous world's fairs have been a showcase of future innovations and inventions, but Expo 2020 Dubai is being viewed as an opportunity that will reconnect the world, post-pandemic.

Dubai Conference Centre is nestled among various buildings at Expo 2020 that will be the business centre at the South Dubai site. The various happenings here and among the various pavilions will make Expo “the world's largest brainstorming session”, according to Omar Khan, director of international offices at Dubai Chamber. “We're starting to see a wave really build up very soon. There's going to be a lot happening in Expo and in Dubai and the UAE in general,” Mr Khan said. “I really do believe that there are going to be some unexpected positive results coming. You know, when you put the best minds together, sometimes it gets very surprising effects and then it snowballs.”

Dubai is experiencing growing business confidence

Dubai’s business conditions are constantly improving. The economy is projected to increase 3.1 per cent in 2021, with Expo being called out as one of the main forces for this expansion. Confidence among businesses in the city is also on the rise.

Dubai Chamber’s survey conducted this summer found that city’s companies are anticipating business conditions to improve in third quarter of 2021 with growing investor confidence before Expo 2020.

“I believe that when Expo comes, I think there's going to be a big uplift [in business]. There’s going to be deals signed, and negotiations and bargains that would not have happened [without Expo],” Mr. Khan said. “There's going to be a big mind meld here, and I think the results are going to be very surprising. One success story is going to become five success stories, and it’s going to pick up and there will be more and more.”

The business confidence in Dubai is also reflected in the recruitment initiatives announced by few of UAE’s largest employers. Online retailer Amazon has announced plans of creating 1,500 jobs in the UAE this year. Emirates airline also plans to recruit 3,000 cabin crew and 500 airport services employees in the next six months.

Steady visitor influx

Dubai headquartered Emirates airlines is increasing its operations to provide for recovering travel.

“We predict large volumes of traffic during the Expo 2020 Dubai period, and forward bookings are looking very encouraging,” an Emirates representative told The National. “We are responding to increased demand through the ramp up of our operations across the network.”

The airline operates 71 direct flights to the 191 countries that are participating in Expo 2020. “We expect that the Expo will provide an even bigger boost to visitor numbers, and it is definitely the highlight for destination Dubai for the remainder of 2021 until April 2022,” the representative said. “The Expo team, Emirates and all travel and tourism stakeholders have worked hard to promote this mega event and make it the focal point for accelerating the world’s post-pandemic recovery.”

Dubai has already witnessed a steady visitors influx since July 2020 when it reopened to tourists. This month’s figures revealed the emirate has welcomed 2.85 million visitors in the first half of 2021. Numbers are predicted to rise in the fourth quarter, thanks to Expo 2020 Dubai and the UAE’s Golden Jubilee celebrations.

Dubai Tourism chief executive, Issam Kazim, said, “Expo will help reinforce Dubai’s position as an international centre for tourism, retail, events, business and finance as it continues to overcome the pandemic.”

“As the host city for this milestone event, which marks a turning point for the post-pandemic world, it is noteworthy that our domestic stakeholders and international network of partners have played a pivotal role in our tourism recovery, leading to the reopening of the city, the restart of the events sector and the city safely welcoming a steady growth in visitors,” Mr Kazim told The National. “Expo 2020 will help harness and build on this momentum, along with UAE’s Golden Jubilee celebrations, throughout this landmark year and beyond.”

Mr Kazim said the six-month mega event is a golden opportunity to demonstrate the best Dubai has to offer. “Dubai is now presented with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase to a global audience its multifaceted destination propositions, its unparalleled generosity and true Arabian hospitality that makes it so unique and attractive for people from all over the world,” he said.

Building brand in Dubai

Suresh Kumar, chairman of Indian Business and Professional Council, has estimated minimum three million visitors visiting Expo 2020 Dubai from India. “The interest levels we’re seeing would suggest at least a few million visitors during the course of Expo from India,” Mr Kumar told The National.

He is expecting Expo to open more opportunities for Indian businesses in Dubai, which would "reach out to other parts of the world to extend their businesses”. “For instance, many of the Indian businesses from a supply chain perspective find it efficient to domicile their last mile production and last-mile delivery capabilities outside India, in a location which has excellent logistics infrastructure, and Dubai and the UAE qualify by a big margin,” he said.

Adrian Costigan, British Business Group’s lead for Expo, said there was a “large buzz among the British community in Dubai” about Expo. He expects sharp surge in UK visitors after recent announcements by the UK government of easing travel between the countries. “We are expecting significant inflows of UK visitors over the coming months for business and winter sun holidays. They will also take in a trip to Expo events and gatherings,” Mr Costigan told The National.

“Expo has a key role to play as a booster for UK inward tourism. All of the UK tourism organisations are well represented across the programme at the British pavilion. It will be difficult for visitors experiencing the storytelling of some of the new aspects of the UK’s personality and the visual impact of landscape and emotion not the plan a trip to the UK in the future.”

More than 6,000 UK companies are operating in the UAE, and a large number of Britishers own local businesses in the UAE.

Mr Costigan, managing director for the Middle East at A-Safe, said Covid-19 and the lockdowns in the UK, have prompted British businesses to expand to the UAE or relocate. “There has already been an increase in new British business setups here in the past year,” he said. He believes the Expo is going to increase this number.

“Expo will be a catalyst for further meeting of minds, entrepreneurship and investment both in Dubai and the wider region, consequently creating opportunities for British businesses, British ingenuity and British brain power to relocate and base themselves here.”

Post-Expo, Omar Kahn said, “I think Dubai is going to be much more agile, probably 10 times more cosmopolitan and it’s going to have a lot of young people,” he said.

“We’re looking at bringing in 50 multinationals in the coming few years, ones that have never been here before – and to internationalise at least 200 of our local companies. Our message is come to Dubai, build your brand. It’s not an easy place, it’s competitive, but it’s a very good, professional place with the right mentality. And then from here, showcase your success and we will help you make it international.”