Expo 2020 Dubai sticks to target of 25 million visits: Minister

Wam

Dubai - Expo 2020 Dubai will be held from October 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022.

By Waheed Abbas

Published: Sun 11 Apr 2021, 8:03 PM

Last updated: Mon 12 Apr 2021, 5:47 PM

Expo 2020 Dubai is sticking to its target of 25 million visits, set prior to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director-General of Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau, hoped that the situation would be much better on October 1, when the six-month-long mega-event begins. She expected a turnaround following the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in the UAE and other countries.

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Expo 2020 Dubai will be held from October 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022.

Al Hashemy gave an interview to the British state-run broadcaster BBC, where she said despite travel restrictions and lockdowns in some countries, Expo 2020 Dubai is holding on to the pre-Covid-19 pandemic target of visits.

“The world has gone through these galactical shifts over the last year but now with vaccines being rolled out, we believe that the situation will settle by October. We believe the situation will be far more positive by then,” she said in the interview.

The UAE is the second-most vaccinated country in the world after Israel.

According to the UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention (Mohap), altogether 8.9m Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered to date. This takes the rate of doses per 100 people to 90.7.

The Covid-19 vaccination drive will also gather momentum globally in the months ahead which will boost confidence among travellers.

Thanks to the massive vaccination drive worldwide, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week revised upward the UAE’s growth forecast for 2021 from 1.3 per cent to 3.1 per cent and global growth prediction from 4.4 per cent to 6 per cent for this year.

More than 190 countries will take part in the Expo 2020 and work on the pavilions is progressing at a rapid clip.

Al Hashimy said all the visitors would have to follow the necessary safety measures related to the Covid-19 pandemic, which are in line with the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) directives for a safe event.

waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com