Expo is set to spur economic activity

Mega event offers numerous opportunities to investors

Expo 2020 dubai will support the ongoing development, diversification and long-term success of the UAE's economy and spur economic activity in the country, a top government official says.
UAE Minister of State Reem Ibrahim Al Hashemi, who is also the board representative of the Dubai Expo 2020 Higher Committee and director-general of Bureau Dubai Expo 2020, said the mega event offers numerous opportunities to investors and public-private partnerships, or PPPs, will ensure a successful Expo under the theme of "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future".
"As expected with a mega event, there are numerous opportunities for the involvement of private capital and foreign investors, whether directly as partners or patrons, or indirectly by working with the broader UAE business community as the nation prepares for 2020," Al Hashemi told Khaleej Times in an exclusive interview after receiving World Expo Host City status from the Bureau International Des Expositions in Paris last week.
She said this is an event for both the public and private sectors, and PPPs will be essential to maximise the benefits of hosting the Expo.
"We are in the early stages and we would love to see an active participation from the private sector. The Expo is an important event for the whole nation and we are very fortunate to have the support of the federal government," the minister said.
Infrastructure development
Expo 2020 is expected to accelerate construction activities in the country. In a recent report, Reidin said Dubai will complete an estimated $82 billion worth of projects in the areas of housing, entertainment and infrastructure by 2020.
"At its peak, the Expo will be one of the largest construction projects taking place in Dubai, which means it will have a considerable supply chain. Over the course of the six months that the Expo takes place, we plan to welcome 25 million visits. These people will need to be looked after, fed and entertained," Al Hashemi said.
"We believe that people travelling internationally to experience the Expo will comprise 70 per cent of those visits. So they will also have to be accommodated and entertained, by hotels and businesses that will also have to be funded and built. This whole undertaking, along with the airport and other developments, will form the heart of Dubai South," she added.
To a question about developing hospitality infrastructure, she said the UAE has one of the best travel and tourist infrastructures in the world, with five international standard airports and aviation connections with more than 300 cities worldwide. Dubai International Airport on its own has the capacity to handle well over 50 million passengers a year.
"Also this is not just about Dubai. We expect the visitors to use the hospitality infrastructure across the different emirates. For example, there are currently over 96,000 hotel rooms in Dubai and Abu Dhabi combined.
The number is expected to double by 2020 and it will include more budget accommodation in particular. With 180,000 rooms, we could give every one of our projected visitors a room of their own if they wanted," she said.
"Our target is 25 million visits over the duration of the Expo."
Clear strategy
Elaborating plans for Expo 2020 after receiving the nod from the BIS - the governing body for World Expos - she said the government has a clear strategy to make the event a success through maximum international participation.
"Now that the registration document is approved, we are in a position to start talking to countries around the world about participating in Expo 2020. As you know, we aim to have 182 countries present at the Expo, and for the first time in Expo history, each of these countries will have its own pavilion," she said.
To a question how many nations have so far confirmed their participation at the Expo, she said: "Today's formal registration of Dubai as host city means we are now permitted to invite nations to participate. We've already begun engagement with participant nations and we will move that to the next stage in 2016."
"We plan to start engaging early with many countries to discuss how we will support them during Expo and our first roadshows will commence later in 2016," the minister said.
About the new move on the Expo, she said: "We will continue to build on the two initiatives we have launched, YouthConnect and BusinessConnect. We also expect to launch the first wave of challenges as part of Expo Live at the end of 2016."
Expo Milano experience
Al Hashemi there are many lessons that future hosts of Expos could learn from Milan.
"Expo Milano lived up to the Italian reputation - it was a warm and welcoming experience for visitors. They created clusters which allowed visitors to understand the link between different countries through a specific food category allowing them to relate to the main theme, "Feeding the planet; energy for life".
"And from a legacy perspective - one of the most critical aspects related to hosting mega events - Expo Milano 2015 has left a tangible and valuable legacy in the form of the Milan Charter, which was presented to the United Nations to encourage genuine, global sustainability from a food and agricultural perspective."
She said Dubai has a unique position and "our planning will reflect this. This would be true from the type of visitors we are looking to attract - we aim to have 70 per cent of all visitors come from beyond the UAE's border, to our commitment of having a pavilion for each country - for the first time in Expo's history".
To a question about sustaining success in tourism and hospitality in the post-Expo period, she said Dubai has an ambitious tourism strategy that was formulated independent of the Expo. "Will the Expo help Dubai achieve this strategy? Yes; but the Expo will also benefit from Dubai's status as tourism hub. Tourism is a main pillar of Dubai's economic strategy and I'm confident that Dubai will be able to sustain its position post-Expo," the minister said.
Expo an opportunity
Reem Al Hashemi said Expo 2020 will be a different experience and the government will utilise the platform to promote tourism attractions in the UAE.
"As I said earlier, Dubai is unique and known for its limitless ambition. Some of the initiatives that we started already differentiate us from previous expos. We also started putting plans to ensure that we leave a social and physical legacy that will continue way beyond 2021 when the Expo closes its doors.
"We will be considering multiple tourism packages to be launched around the time tickets sale, which starts in in late 2018. We want the Expo to be an opportunity to introduce the world to the UAE and its heritage and culture. As such, packages promoting the rest of the nation would be an important element," she added.
The minister said thanks to the nationals and residents of the UAE and the whole business community for their support during the bid for the Expo until today. She said Expo 2020 Dubai will only be successful if everyone in the UAE felt that they are part of the journey and were proud of being involved.
"Our theme is connecting minds, creating the future, and we would love to hear from everyone on their ideas through some of the initiatives that we have already launched like YouthConnect and BusinessConnect. I'd encourage everyone to follow us on social media to learn about our latest initiatives and how to get involved."
"We are planning few new initiatives that will start early 2016 which we hope will drive national engagement and most importantly maintain national pride," she concluded.
- muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com

Permanent legacy for Expo site
About the purpose of World Expo site after the event, Minister of State Reem Ibrahim Al Hashemi said: "What is vitally important is ensuring there is a sustainable economic legacy that continues after the event closes its doors. This goes beyond the tangible elements of buildings and businesses on the site, to the sorts of people who will be working there and across Dubai - the human capital and knowledge economy which we hope will be the Expo's true dividend.
"Our plans are for the site to have a permanent legacy - what we build will stay built, and will be at the heart of the new Dubai South," she added.
- muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com

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