Last two years have seen practically all global business and tourism events cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Expo 2020 Dubai, that is set to open on October 1, and is the largest event planned currently, could signal a revival.

Ending over a year of uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic, the world’s largest business and tourism event,  Expo 2020 Dubai, is slated to open on October 1 amidst much anticipation and fanfare as the world takes its first steps, even if tentatively, towards resuming life that had been brought to a screeching halt nearly 20 months back.

In many ways, Dubai Expo 2020 already symbolises regeneration and revival. For, it will be held in District 2020, a piece of land measuring 4.3 sqkm, which was plain desert in the middle of nowhere until the preparations for the Expo began a few years ago. Now, it is perhaps the most modern microcity, with 130 smart buildings, built on sustainable development principles, at a cost of almost USD 7 billion.

The billions of dollars as well as years of meticulous planning are set to reach fruition as the expo will mark one of the biggest events to be held anywhere in the world not just this year, but indeed for many years to come.

To ensure the event’s success, the organiser, Dubai government, has gone a long way in reaching out to fellow governments across the world as well as businesses and the tourism industry to ensure that for the six months from October 1 to March 31 next year, the Expo 2020 remains the most vibrant and happening place in the entire world.

Less than a fortnight before it opens, the event does look promising. A total of 192 nations have confirmed their participation in the Expo 2020, overcoming fears and concerns over the pandemic in order to give a major boost to their economies as well as tourism through a high-profile participation at an event that will continue to attract attention across the world for the next six months.

“For the first time in World Expo history, every participating country will have its own pavillion and we look forward to welcoming more than 200 participants, including 192 countries, as well as multilateral organisations, businesses and educational institutions, plus millions of visitors – for the largest and most diverse World Expo ever. Expo 2020 aspires to celebrate creativity, innovation, humanity and world cultures. With this in mind, for 182 consecutive days, the Expo site will be alive with unmissable sights, sounds, rhythms and flavours from across the globe. No two days will be the same at Expo 2020,” Sumathi Ramanathan, vice president, Market Strategy & Sales, Expo 2020 Dubai, tells India Outbound.

Eyes on India

Besides participation by nations and businesses through their own pavillions, World Expos traditionally attract millions of visitors as well. Despite the current situation of the global travel industry due to Covid-19 pandemic, Dubai Expo says it has not lowered its own targets for international visitors over the course of the next six months of the Expo 2020.

“We continue to look forward to welcoming millions of visitors from around the world to visit Expo 2020 Dubai and we have not changed our 25 million visit target. However, we are following the current global situation in relation to Covid-19 closely and will update our modelling accordingly,” says Ramanathan.

With extremely close and historical business, political and social ties between India and Dubai, the organisers of the Expo expect India to not only deliver in terms of large participation by exhibitors and businesses at the India Pavillion at Expo, but they are also eyeing the lucrative tourism market from India to generate unprecedented interest amongst Indian tourists for planning a trip to the emirate not only to visit the Expo and participate in numerous activities planned there, but also to relish the all-time favourites of Dubai as a shopping and family destination. For over half a decade, India has been March 2020.

With vaccination in India progressing at a high pace now, they expect a much larger base of tourists to begin travelling from the festive season onwards and unlike the past, when traffic from India to Dubai dipped seasonally, travel professionals say this year they expect the demand to keep on rising through the year, right up to next summer vacations when even a bigger number would head out.

Dubai has always been an attractive destination for many Indians – irrespective of the socio-economic class, and hence they expect the city to reap the benefits of the pickup in travel demand in a significant manner. Accordingly, numerous travel agencies have curated a series of packages to cater to practically all kinds of visitors who may head out to Dubai.

“Expo 2020 Dubai is a much anticipated the largest source market for Dubai Tourism, ahead of the Gulf giant, Saudi Arabia. Even last year, despite the near complete ban on travel outside India and disruption of flights, India retained its top spot as a source market.

Thus, both the organisers as well as tour operators in India remain extremely optimistic about the number of Indians to visit Dubai between now and April 2022. Their optimism is built around the fact that the Dubai Expo is the first major global event that is being held anywhere in the world since the pandemic began almost two years ago. Most travel agents and experts expect a boom in travellers from India, as well as other markets, due to the pentup demand that has remained bottled up since international flights were stopped in event that finds strong appeal across a wide range of traveller segments – from India’s millennials, couples, families, students, and business to MICE travellers. For industry associations, corporates and businesses, Expo 2020 Dubai offers an invaluable platform for ideation, R&D, business and networking. We have two strategic pivots: Thomas Cook India has been appointed as an official Ticket Reseller for Expo 2020 Dubai; secondly our Thomas Cook India Group company – Desert Adventures is the ground partner for conducting guided on-site tours within the varied Expo districts/area- for the extensive six month period,” Rajeev Kale, president & country head of Holidays, MICE, Visa, at India’s largest travel firm, Thomas Cook (India) tells India Outbound.

Another major player in the Indian tourism market, SOTC India, which was acquired by Thomas Cook India about six years ago, is also ramping up its own plans for the Expo. It is also targeting multiple segments of travellers for the Expo.

“SOTC’s leadership positioning, extensive omni-channel distribution network and diversity of our segments — across India’s leisure, business, b-leisure, MICE and B2B — will offer significant benefit in inspiring visitors to witness this once-ina-lifetime global mega-event and ensure smooth and seamless end-to-end delivery. SOTC has launched unique technology enabled solutions towards personalisation – enabling travellers to create their own itinerary based on their personal preferences – to best optimise their Expo 2020 visits,” Daniel D’souza, president & country head, SOTC Travel tells India Outbound.

It is not just the giants of the industry who are excited about the Expo and the opportunities it offers, especially as Indian tourism industry has gone through the worst-ever period since the outbreak of the pandemic and the various disruptions to travel within and outside India.

Kolkata-based Dolphin Travels is a mid-size travel firm that caters mainly to travellers from eastern India. The company has also lined up a slew of packages for its clients to head out to Dubai during the Expo. “Dubai Expo is getting bigger and better. We have included the expo in our regular package as well, since we do not want our guests to miss out on it. For all customers going only for Expo we are including the transfers on complimentary basis and even adding new attractions to the package,” Riddhi Roy, director of Dolphin Travels tells India Outbound.

Thomas Cook India says a lot of meticulous planning has gone into its preparations for the Expo. “To maximise the dual opportunity, our teams at Thomas Cook India have spent several months in strategic planning, contracting and product development and so we were quick to go to market as soon as positive announcements were received from Dubai authorities,” says Kale.

Business first

As the Expo is the biggest business event held every five years, most countries and exhibitors that come to the show to participate or even visit are there for business as the Expo is a great platform to boosting international trade as well as an ideal place to showcase innovations. Little wonder then that the travel agents are also lining up their packages to cater to all business segments, notably the MICE that is related to business events.

“MICE is a strong volume driver and with corporates still holding on to unspent budgets, we have designed unique MICE programmes – tailor made and co-curated based on the interest of the specific corporates and sector. For MICE, we are also seeing interest in gala dinners and events at the Expo site itself. In addition to Expo 2020, the exciting cricket fixtures of the T20 Cricket World Cup, have allowed us to combine the two opportunities with a compelling product for the corporate MICE segment. Our demand pipeline is looking very encouraging and with booking requests from multinational companies, Indian businesses, SMEs & industry associations; also educational institutions, Expo 2020 Dubai offers significant scope towards revival of travel,” says Kale.

World beyond business

But it is not just the business visitors that are in the sights of the Indian travel professionals. Big or small, they all expect to have a fair number of travellers who would visit the Expo and Dubai for fun rather than any business interest. And they are preparing packages to meet this segment of demand, accordingly and they say they are thrilled with the response from clients.

“The response from the tourists is quite good. People are asking about Expo. We have been receiving bookings as well, especially for the festive time here in Kolkata. As the international borders had remained closed for a long while, this opportunity to travel to Dubai during the Expo has come with a bang,” says Roy of Dolphin Travels.

SOTC’s D’souza mirrors Roy’s expectations about the interest of general tourists for visiting Dubai during the Expo. “With the recent announcement of Dubai re-opening for Indian tourists, we have been receiving a strong uptick in demand with a substantial number of bookings in the pipeline. On the leisure travel front, Expo 2020 gives families a great opportunity to visit one of their favourite holiday destinations, starting this festive season. In addition, being doubly vaccinated already, we see a sizeable interest from senior travellers as well. Honeymooners and couples are also showing strong demand. With significant interest for a 5-6 nights’ stay, we have curated an attractive 5 and 6 nights Expo product with Single Day/ Multi Day Tickets included. Besides the visit to the Expo, we also have the Guided Tour of Expo. Our offers also include attractions like Yacht Cruise, Desert Safari, Burj Khalifa, Dubai Frame and the city tour coupled with visits to the Gold & Spice Souks,” says D’souza.

The organisers of the Expo say they are totally on the ball vis a vis targetting and attracting families and other tourists, besides business visitors. “Expo 2020 Dubai is the whole world in one place, with something for everyone – for explorers and adventurers; for foodies and culture enthusiasts; for children and grandparents; for entrepreneurs, thought leaders, businesses and governments; for the casual tourist, and for the curious who want to experience the future – now,” says Ramanathan.

She remains confident about a high turnout for the Expo especially as the pandemic eases out in many countries due to rapid vaccinations. “The traditional source markets for the destination have been India, GCC, UK, Germany, France, Russia & CIS. While Covid-19 and the corresponding travel regulation fluidity has necessitated that we continuously monitor the situation, recent developments including the roll-out of vaccines, the moving of the UAE from red to the amber list for the UK and the recent opening of Oman, where no quarantine is required for vaccinated travellers, means we are optimistic about international arrivals,” she says.

The Expo’s success is critical not just for Dubai or the travel trade in India and other parts of the world linked to Dubai, but indeed it could set the trend for a much-needed revival of international travel and tourism and help resuscitate an industry that has been in a coma for almost two years now. The world of future is one of the themes at the Expo and in more ways than one the future of the world depends on it.