Expo 2020 to help boost region's economies

August, 25th 2014

Dubai: The economic impact of World Expo 2020 in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) is valued at €17.7 billion (Dh89.89 billion), according to a statement by the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) on Monday.

The six-month event, which Dubai won the bid to host in November, will be the first World Expo in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (Menasa).

Expo 2020 will run from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021 at Dubai Trade Centre-Jebel Ali. It is expected to attract 25 million visitors.

“The fact that Dubai is itself strategically located within four hours of a third of the world’s population this Expo has potential for wider impact leading up to the event and afterwards for years to come,” said Mutasem Dajani, Deloitte’s UAE regional managing partner.

Expo 2020-related infrastructure and operational costs are estimated to be €6.45 billion. Major on-site construction is set to be completed by October 2019.

Over the next six years, more than 275,000 jobs are likely to be created across the region to service Expo 2020, across different sectors including tourism, aviation, real estate, construction, transportation, logistics and retail, DWTC said in the statement.

In Dubai, where hotel occupancies are above 80 per cent, Expo 2020 is estimated to require 50,000 more rooms in more than 200 properties of all categories, from budget to luxury, which is expected to create 100,000 new jobs in tourism and hospitality (of 277,000 employment opportunities).

Bank of America Merrill Lynch estimates a boost to the Dubai economy valued at $23 billion between now and 2020, while Arabia Monitor forecast total receipts from visitors to Expo 2020 could reach $60 billion.

Most UAE residents expect Expo 2020 to have a positive impact on their lives before and after the event, according to a survey of more than 1,000 residents by strategic research company, Insight Discovery.

95 per cent of the respondents are interested in the Expo, out of which 62 per cent expressed strong interest, while 88 per cent said it will impact their lives positively.

Expo 2020 is likely to boost Dubai’s attractiveness as a base for overseas businesses that wish to invest in the Middle East.

“It is easy to forget that there are still a great many companies around the world that do not have operations in the Middle East and have never invested here, and Expo 2020 should be yet another important component of any strategy to give Dubai a more prominent place in the business world,” said Humphry Hatton, CEO of Deloitte Corporate Finance.

Source: Gulfnews.com