For 170 years now, World Expos have provided a platform to showcase key innovations that have shaped the world we know today. Expo 2020 is no exception. The first Expo was held in London in 1851. Initially, each participating country had its own space in the central pavilion of the exhibition. However, since 1867, the participating countries began to create their own pavilions in various forms, which has allowed nations to highlight their most significant capabilities, landmarks and tourism opportunities. Particularly, every country was able to build its own pavilion in an architectural way that is consistent with its characteristics.
Expo 2020 Dubai, which bears the motto "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future", is one of the exceptional exhibitions in this respect, especially since this slogan combines human heritage, the achievements of human history and knowledge, as well as all the latest technologies and advanced applications in various fields, all in one place. It also provides each country with opportunities to highlight their identity, culture, history and capabilities, which is an ideal opportunity for the exchange of knowledge, experiences and human rapprochement, propagating more momentum in the global tourism sector, starting with the UAE, which hosts the first World Expo in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.
Tourist Turnout for Expo
International Expos are usually of a touristic nature, as they attract prospective travelers, not to mention companies and businessmen, and others. Over the past twenty years, these exhibitions have witnessed great developments in this regard. The World Expo held in Germany, the Hanover Expo, in 2000, under the slogan “Man, Nature, Technology”, attracted 18.1 million visitors. This number of visitors was a great achievement for the exhibition, particularly since it was held in Hanover, which is one of the quiet Northern cities in Germany. Since the city did not usually attract many tourists at that time, such a number of visitors for the exhibition was a big shift for its tourism sector.
This achievement was partly through the participation of about 180 countries in the exhibition. They took advantage of that occasion to highlight the architectural arts in creating their pavilions, and then they put many events of great attraction for tourists on the agendas of their pavilions, including folkloric shows. They also worked on highlighting the latest technologies they have reached, which enhanced the presence of companies and investors as well as business tourism.
At Expo 2005, which was held in Aichi, Japan, the number of visitors and tourists who attended the exhibition reached about 22 million, exceeding the target number which was 15 million visitors. The exhibition caused a boom in the tourism sector in and around the host region, including all sectors connected to tourism, whether directly or indirectly.
The Shanghai Expo, which was held in 2010, was the highest among all the Expo exhibitions in its history in terms of the number of visitors, as they reached about 73 million, beating the estimates which expected the attendance of about 70 million visitors. This had a positive impact on the economy and tourism sectors in Shanghai, as this exhibition increased the number of visitors to the Spring Festival at the time by 12%, leading to an increase in Shanghai's total revenue from tourism by about 13%.
In Expo Milan in 2015, under the motto “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”, about 144 countries participated, and the event was a global occasion to highlight the culture of food and restaurants from each country, combining creativity, culture, tradition, innovation and technology, with everything relevant to nutrition and food around the world. This helped attract about 20 million visitors to the exhibition, with a daily average of 116,000 visitors. The Italian Statistics Institute (ISTAT) confirmed that the number of tourists in the country amounted to about 113.4 million in 2015, which records an increase of 7 million tourists. Furthermore, the number of tourist nights increased by about 4% compared to 2014.
Expo 2020 Dubai, which kicks off in early October, is expected to attract about 25 million visitors of various nationalities over a period of six months. 70% of the visitors are expected to come from outside the UAE, especially since the exhibition is attended by more than 190 countries. This will qualify the country to become the most important global destination for tourism during the exhibition period, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and its global impact on tourism.
The UAE has worked to take all necessary health measures to receive Expo visitors and participants. Bloomberg news agency commented on this by confirming that the UAE has made great achievements in the face of COVID-19, in light of the measures it has taken, which led to a reduction in the number of new infections to less than 400 cases about two weeks prior to the launch of Expo 2020 Dubai. The agency indicated that this decrease in the number infections gives a strong impetus to the UAE as the host of this exhibition. Moreover, the Australian Entertainment Magazine praised the measures taken by the UAE to serve Expo visitors, which would enhance the safety of the global public.
Recent weeks have revealed a significant boom in the indicators of the tourism sector in the UAE, in preparation for the Expo. The Emirates Civil Aviation Authority has confirmed the growth of the total number of travelers to the country during August 2021 to over 2.5 million passengers, compared to 814,000 passengers during the same period in 2020, recording an increase of about 207%. Hotel reservations in the UAE in particular also witnessed significant growth. Last July, the global travel and reservations website Wego recorded over half a million searches for flights and hotel reservations in Dubai during the event. The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) in Dubai revealed that the emirate received more than 2.85 million international visitors during the first seven months of 2021.
The hotel capacity of the hospitality sector in Dubai over the past seven months amounted to 129,318 rooms distributed among 718 hotel establishments, with revenues of available rooms rising to 225 AED, compared to 194 AED for the same period in 2020. The number of hotel nights booked from January to July 2021 reached 16.34 million, which is a significant increase over the same period last year which recorded 10.74 million hotel nights.
According to STR data, Dubai ranked second globally in terms of occupancy after Singapore, surpassing Paris and London, for the first seven months of 2021. Revenue per room available in Dubai to date has been the highest among the four destinations, followed by Singapore, Paris and London.
In general, the efforts made by the UAE as well as the positive evaluation it holds by international observers and interested entities, enhances international confidence in the provision of health security in the country, and encourages visitors and participants to come to the country, which would enhance the exhibition's chance to realize the goal of attracting 25 million tourists. Although this goal was set before the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandamic, what has been accomplished so far, in the health sector, in addition to the revival witnessed in the tourism sector, the distinguished facilities as well as the distinguished agenda of the exhibition, may lead to exceeding the target number of visitors for the Dubai Expo.
