Mustafa Abdel Azim, Khawla Ali (Dubai)
Expo 2020 Dubai attracted huge numbers of visitors during the first ten days of its launch, reaching 411,768 visitors from ticket holders, including more than 137,000 from outside the country, according to data announced yesterday by the exhibition office, which showed a repeat of 1 in 5 visitors. Visited more than once during this period. Data from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai showed an increase in the number of travelers since the opening ceremony of Expo 2020 Dubai on September 30 until October 10, 2021, as the number of arrivals through Dubai airports reached 477,101 passengers, which heralds a strong start for the return of tourism in the United Arab Emirates and recovery. from the pandemic, and thus revitalize the economic wheel in the country. The data of a number of pavilions participating in Expo 2020 Dubai indicated that a daily average number of visitors was recorded, ranging from 6 to 7 thousand visitors, on weekdays, while the average increases on weekends to reach between 10 and 12 thousand visitors.
Expo 2020 Dubai data indicated that visitors belong to 175 nationalities, while one out of every three visitors was a foreign tourist who was not residing in the country, while one out of every five visitors during the first ten days repeated the visit more than once, which was shown by the days tickets. Multiple tickets and seasonal tickets, which is one of the many options for tickets, which are very popular, especially that one visit is not enough to explore everything that the global event site offers.
“The first week of the Expo was undoubtedly a successful one,” said Dimitri Kirkentzis, Secretary General of the BIE. The numbers we are seeing so far are very encouraging and show the desire of people all over the world to reconnect and work together for a better future.”
Her Excellency Reem Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General of Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “The number of visits in the first ten days shows the enthusiasm of the world and its aspiration to attend Expo 2020 Dubai. We are very pleased with this wonderful turnout to attend its activities. The coming days will be filled with more unique, dazzling, and unique events that provide a rich and meaningful visitor experience, and we look forward to welcoming everyone from all over the world.”
Lieutenant-General Mohamed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai, confirmed that Dubai Residence is ready to deal with the large numbers of travelers during the period held for Expo 2020 Dubai, in all its outlets as a single cell and a united team within an integrated system to ensure that Expo Dubai exceeds all expectations, stressing that The front-line employees are doing their best to receive millions of visitors during this period, because they are aware of the importance of the role they play and the honorable image they reflect on the UAE.
Al Marri said: We are pleased to welcome the world to Dubai and contribute to creating a unique experience for visitors to the event, which represents a unique opportunity to shed light on the cultural and civilizational heritage of the UAE and its inspiring experience for visitors of different ages, groups and nationalities, and we are proud to be part of this achievement and this unprecedented success, which carries With him is the world’s ambition to chart the features of a new future for humanity, adding that the increasing number of travelers heralds the return of tourism and recovery from the pandemic, and thus revitalize the economic wheel.
For her part, Shauna McGee, Vice President of Communications at Expo 2020 Dubai, said during the media briefing yesterday morning that despite the temperatures, the number of visits to Expo 2020 Dubai during the first ten days of the event reached 411,768 visits via tickets from 175 nationalities. , which is not far when the 192 countries participating in the exhibition.
international markets
McGee pointed out that international markets contributed one visitor out of 3 visitors to Expo 2020 Dubai, and this is an important achievement, especially since we did not reach the peak of international tourism in Dubai, and we usually see an increase in the number of Dubai tourists in late October, with the start of vacations in Many countries and holiday holidays, and this percentage is expected to increase with the increase in international travel. She explained that these statistics represent the Expo 2020 Dubai ticket campaign and do not include representatives of delegations and guests from international participants, partners, all partners, and members of Expo, but only ticket owners.
3 million followers
Shauna McGee, Vice President of Communications at Expo 2020 Dubai, said: 3 million people have watched the opening of the international event virtually, in addition to an additional 5 million views of the virtual Expo 2020 Dubai since the beginning of this October. The virtual Expo website (https://virtualexpodubai.com/) saw five million visits between October 1-10, in addition to more than three million visits to watch the official opening ceremony on September 30. McGee expected that the number of visitors to the Expo 2020 Dubai will increase in the coming period with the decrease in temperatures and the improvement of the weather, especially with the presence of special and new events programs daily that attract the attention of visitors.
She explained that families’ interest in visiting the Expo is not limited to the pavilions and Al Wasl Square, but extends to other areas such as children’s play areas, and with the opening of international markets more and the increase in the number of international tourism, we will see an increase in the number of visitors even more.
Joseph Issa, Commissioner-General of the Republic of Timor-Leste at Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “Since the launch of Expo 2020 Dubai, we have been very busy with large numbers of visitors coming to our pavilion every day. We are happy to see many visitors interested in learning more about our country, and we are pleased to offer them in our booth a glimpse of the opportunities it includes for tourism, investment and visits from all over the world.”
Ambassador Doreen Debrem, Commissioner-General of the Marshall Islands at Expo 2020 said: “This is the first time we have participated in a stand-alone pavilion at a World Expo, and it is a wonderful experience as we were able to showcase the best of our country to visitors. It is privileged to be a part of this extraordinary event.”
The theme pavilions with dazzling designs and distinctive content attracted the attention of visitors, namely sustainability, mobility and opportunities. Al Wasl Square, with its special creative touches, won the admiration of visitors for the various activities it presented during the first ten days of Expo 2020 Dubai, and hijacked the Expo Falls, which combines flowing water and fiery formations. Dazzling visitors’ eyes. As well as the pavilions of 192 countries and the pavilions of partners and other international bodies. A large number of families flocked to the various suites, especially during the weekend.
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