Expo 2020 Dubai: UAE to be the most sought-after tourist destination

Dubai - The event is expected to receive over 25 million local and foreign visits

The UAE’s tourism sector is poised for a big boom in the next six months as Dubai is all set to roll the red carpet to welcome the world to Expo 2020 Dubai that will be held from October 1 to March 31.

With less than 16 days left for the start of Expo 2020 Dubai, one of the world’s most anticipated events that is expected to receive over 25 million local and foreign visits, hoteliers and hospitality industry experts say they expect Dubai to be the most sought-after international destination between October this year and March 2022.

The UAE is one of the most vaccinated countries in the world with 79.3 per cent of population being fully vaccinated until September 13. The number of coronavirus tests conducted being 78,651,247. About 90.5 per cent of residents have received their first dose. Experts say the preventive measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic are one of the significant factors that helped boost the country's stature as a safe travel destination, despite the pandemic continuing globally.

The boom in tourism is evident from the high reservation rates and many hotels say they have bounced back to the pre-pandemic rates. The hotel booking website, "Wego" registered over 500,000 searches for flights and hotel reservations for Dubai during the event period, according to state agency WAM.

The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) revealed the total number of passengers travelling to the UAE grew in August 2021 to over 2.5 million, compared to 814,000 in the same period of 2020, surging by 207 per cent.

In its statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), the GCAA highlighted increased figures in national air traffic statistics for August, which recorded 45,953 flights.

Hotels gear for surge in tourists

Alexander Musch, General Manager, Pullman Hotels and Resorts said the hotel industry has seen “better performance recently with increase in demand due to Expo2020” and expect a high pick-up due to the sheer scale of the event.

“As per STR projections, Dubai managed to rebound faster than other destinations to reach very close to 2019 demand levels. What we’ve witnessed as well is a shift in booking lead times from 90 days to a seven-day window,” said Musch.

Although travellers might still be hesitant in advance booking, he said their lengths of stays have been stretched up to five to seven nights.

Richard Haddad, Chief Executive Officer, Jannah Hotels & Resorts said they have seen bookings pick up. “We expect it to increase further closer to date. So far, we anticipate our Dubai properties to reach occupancies in the late-80s percentile and the rates to go back as they were pre-pandemic,” said Haddad.

Vinayak Mahtani, CEO of bnbme holiday homes said they are anticipating a built-up demand for visitors to come since the past 3-4 months.

One of the critical decisions that will help the tourism sector is the UAE’s decision to open its borders to vaccinated tourists.

Mahtani said since the decision, there has been a huge inflow of tourism. “We have increased our property portfolio especially in new areas like Dubai South where we are seeing 100% occupancy.”

Ayman Gharib, Managing Director of Raffles The Palm Dubai that is slated to open this October said events like Expo 2020 will make Dubai one of the most desirable and sought-after destinations on the planet and kick-start a surge in visitors.

UAE airlines’ special Expo deals like the ones announced by the Emirates Airlines and flydubai, offering a complimentary one-day pass to Expo for passengers, are also expected to woo international visitors.