Come See, Come All

Dubai expects that the economic impact of the Expo will be felt for a long time to come. The event is set to create 275,000 jobs across the region in numerous sectors, including tourism, aviation, real estate, construction, transportation, logistics, and retail according to the Dubai World Trade Center (DWTC). Dubai will need to boost its hotel bed capacity before 2020 to cope with huge influx of visitors. It is predicted that the city will require a further 50,000 beds across all categories from budget to luxury. The sector to benefit the most from these new jobs will be tourism, which is expected to need an additional 100,000 new workers to service the event.

Construction for the event is expected to begin in 2015 and be completed by 2019. Infrastructure and operational costs are currently estimated to run to around ‚¬6.45 billion. The Expo will take place on a 438-hectare site, which will also include a 150-hectare covered area. The Expo will be split into three zones, which coincide with the event’s sub-themes: mobility, sustainability, and opportunity. Each zone will host an entertainment venue and a specialized pavilion. In addition, there will also be housing facilities for the staff from participating countries in the Expo Village, which should be completed in 2018. While the prestige of holding the event will certainly be a benefit, the estimated economic reward Dubai is expected to attract is also turning some heads. Bank of America Merrill Lynch estimates that the economic boost created by the event could be as large as $23 billion, while Arabia Monitor believes that it will be much higher at $60 billion. In an interview with Gulf News, Mahmoud Al Bastaki, CEO of Dubai Trade, believes that the increase visibility and awareness of Dubai created from the Expo will help push the Emirate’s foreign trade over AED4 trillion ($1.09 trillion).