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The emirate plans to host one of the biggest gas conferences and an African investor summit this year
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Dubai aims for 25 million unique visits to the Expo 2020
As restrictions hamper travel to hubs such as London and Singapore, Dubai is fast becoming a winner in the more than $ 1 trillion global events industry with in-person events on the back of fewer travel restrictions and one of the world’s most connected airports, Bloomberg reported.
The United Arab Emirates also has among the fastest vaccination programs, with 15 million doses administered in a population of 10 million.
The emirate plans to host one of the biggest gas conferences and an African investor summit this year, while top cricketers are set to gather in the UAE for a popular tournament and later, for the T20 World Cup, the report said.
Conferences and events accounted for 3% of Dubai’s $112 billion economy in 2019, Bloomberg cited Helal Al Marri, director general of the emirate’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, or DTCM, as saying.
A return to normalcy would bolster the leisure industry, which was leveled by the pandemic.
It’s “an opportunity to showcase that Dubai is open and if this can be done while keeping new Covid infections in check — and the vaccine rollout will help with that — then visitors’ confidence in traveling to Dubai will be high,” said Scott Livermore, chief economist for Oxford Economics Middle East in Dubai.
Dubai, is aiming for 25 million unique visits to the Expo 2020, including delegates from almost every country. The postponed exhibition, set to open in October, is estimated to generate billions of dollars in revenue.
Dubai Bets On Speedy Vaccine Rollout to Keep Expo 2020 on track, the report said.