‘World’s Greatest Show’

Expo 2020 Dubai is all set to showcase a never-experienced event for 173 days, starting from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021. It is expecting 25 million visits from across the world.

Devika Jeet

Expo 2020 Dubai is preparing to put on the ‘World’s Greatest Show’ of human brilliance and achievement. The theme, ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’, delves on the belief that innovation and progress are the result of people and ideas coming together in new and unique ways. Expo 2020 Dubai coincides with UAE’s 50th anniversary in 2021. Twenty-five million visits are expected, of which 70 per cent are touted to be international visitors. Expo 2020 will help to achieve the UAE Vision 2021 by increasing tourism and developing innovative businesses.

“We are bringing the world to Dubai and these six months will be a showcase of the best that Dubai has to offer. The Expo site is 4.38 square kilometres and is located halfway between Dubai airport and Abu Dhabi airport. Further, Expo 2020 has 20 performance venues and can host 60 events daily,” says Sanjive Khosla, Chief Commercial Officer, Expo 2020. He adds that they are expecting 17-18 per cent visitation from India. Dubai currently has a 12 per cent repeat visitation from India within a 12-month period.

Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Tourism, claims that India will remain an important source market for this event. “We have moved from a seasonal campaign and make our campaigns run throughout the year. We are making access easier, working on capacity, and trying to make accessibility to Dubai as easy as possible. Our approach includes Tier-I, II and III markets in India,” he shares.

Kazim also highlights that simpler visas, especially for the Expo, might be on the cards. “We are trying to get people to visit within the first few weeks to understand the magnitude of the event and then visit again,” he adds.