What is the business strategy of Expo 2020 Dubai?

Expo 2020 Dubai officially opens on 20 October 2020. As usual the Expo lasts for 6 months till April 2021. Capital expenditure is ticked as USD 10 Billion. Spending more is good yet what is the overall business strategy. So far nothing is heard of what is the grand design of Dubai in organizing this phenomenal event.

By past standards the expectations on Expo2020 are staggering. Nearly 25 million visitors are expected to throng the mega site where close upon 190 pavilions and numerous stalls add colour and credence to the theme of "Connecting Minds Creating Future". There are sub-themes too: Sustainability, Mobility and Opportunity.

In terms of visitor expectation it appears alright as past events had on average 20 million visitors, barring the Shanghai Expo2010 that registered more than 70 million visitors. Of course, most visitors in previous Expo are citizens of the host country. Dubai Expo is going to be different in that it is forecast around 70% of visitors are going to be foreigners. If this happens then Dubai is going to set the record of highest foreign visitors ever in the 168 years of Expo history.

The mega event is likely to boost leisure industry and retail trade in the short run. In the long run it is expected to give a big push to additional sectors such as construction, transport and communication. Part of this growth is already experienced as pre-event expenditure has injected cash-flow to these sectors.

But questions remain as to the real beneficiaries and where the business strategy, if any, focuses upon. During the event and in the post Expo legacy period it is estimated that 50,000 jobs wold be created. The point here is that larger proportion of the jobs would be manned by expatriates.

The real estate sector that underpinned Dubai growth in the past is not going to get much tangible benefits. When Expo is completed the site would be transitioned as District 2020 with almost 80% of the area consisting about 4 million square feet made available for legacy development for residential, commercial and hospitability sectors. 

The balance between the equation of skyline and landline however has not been studied. Moreover without a workable and doable business strategy linking Expo2020 with real estate sector the event serves limited purpose only. To cap it all, analysts expect the entire Expo 2020 proceeds to account for a mere 1.5% of the GDP of Dubai.

 

Cheers!

 

Muthu Ashraff Rajulu

Business Strategist

Mobile: + 94 777 265677

E-mail:   cosmicgems@gmail.com

Blog:   Business Strategist