Dubai Expo 2020 targets 25 Million Visitors
Expo 2020 Dubai expects to welcome 25 million visitors in 6 months between October 20, 2020 and April 10, 2021, of which 70 percent (about 11 million) will come from outside Dubai.
Dubai Expo 2020 targets 25 Million Visitors
DUBAI – “ASWAQ”
Expo 2020 Dubai expects to welcome 25 million visitors in 6 months between October 20, 2020 and April 10, 2021, of which 70 percent (about 11 million) will come from outside Dubai.
The target consists of around 15 million unique visitors, with about 11 million coming from overseas, and the remaining consisting of 4 million local residents coming multiple times.
Khosla estimates that international guests will visit an average of about 1.2 times, while local UAE residents are predicted to visit an average of 3 times throughout the 6-month period. The numbers work out at around 145,000 visits for every one of the 173 days the site is open.
How are they going to achieve this target?
Of course, it will have to be a big awareness campaign and aggressive marketing to attract the number of visitors.
The first big awareness drive was the ‘Welcome to the Future’ video campaign starring Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi. A big awareness drive, including a free concert starring American singer Mariah Carey, started recently which focuses on the ‘One Year to Go’ campaign to the opening of the event.
Another strategy Khosla is using to attract the millions of visits is encouraging events taking place in Dubai to be held within the Expo 2020 Dubai site or in the Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC), which is just a 10 minute walk from the expo gates.
Khosla is also responsible for monetising the event from three main revenue generators at its disposal: ticket sales, sponsorship from partners, such as MasterCard, Nissan, Pepsi, SAP, Emirates, Siemens, Emirates NBD, Etisalat and UPS; and licensing.
Expo 2020 Dubai will host around 60 events everyday ranging from small attractions to international celebrity appearances with each one of them brimming with new experiences. It will be a time to create, collaborate and innovate. And it is going to be fun, eye-catching, mind-bending, taste bud-tickling, grin-inducing, good-weird, did-that-really-just-happen experience.
There will be hundreds of pavilions featuring interactive exhibits, live entertainment, memorable meeting spaces, quirky hangouts and plenty more.
Guests can visit their favourite countries and discover new places they have never considered before. It could change the way people see the world, with 192 country pavilions featuring narratives from every corner of the globe.
Guests will have the opportunity to experience the excitement not to be missed out, and here are just a handful:
- Glimpse the future of travel with Hyperloop;
- Discover the life-changing possibilities of 3D printing;
- Meet Gnasher, the sharp-toothed machine of endless consumption;
- See Expo 2020 from the top of the rotating observation tower;
- Enjoy super-fast connectivity with 5G network;
- Savour cuisines of tomorrow at the ‘Future of Food Festival’;
- Learn how forest trees use their roots to help one another;
- Become part of a mission to Mars (can you spot the Martian?);
- Explore the cultures of more than 190 countries.
Expo 2020 is full of excitement for people of all ages and backgrounds, with a variety of attractions like: a world of flavours; world-class architecture; innovative landscapes; arts and culture; three thematic districts; and outdoor performances.
The start of the awareness campaign is not too bad after all. With one year to go a good indicator of demand and interest, at least locally, came recently when the bus tours of the under-construction Expo 2020 Dubai site sold out within hours.
Dubai has also stepped up efforts to cater to the millions of additional people who are expected to visit Dubai in the years leading up to Dubai Expo 2020 and during the event, by accelerating its development of Al Maktoum International Airport (AMIA). Once completed, AMIA will be the world’s largest airport with a capacity to handle 160 million passengers per year. The development of AMIA includes the creation of an integrated sea and air freight facility that is expected to play an important part in Dubai’s general transportation infrastructure and in servicing Dubai Expo 2020. It is believed that these developments will help Dubai Expo 2020 achieve its target of 25 million visitors.
