‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ – that is the overarching theme of Expo 2020 Dubai, the extravagant global event that the UAE government unveiled in October, 2021 after years of thoughtful planning. With the participation of 192 countries, each week, it focuses on topics like travel, climate, education, health, etc., to bring in thousands of visitors to the city, boosting its tourism and showcasing UAE’s economic prowess.
Sumathi Ramanathan, VP-Market Strategy and Sales, Expo 2020 Dubai tells Vinita Bhatia how it is a great opportunity for India’s HoReCa community to showcase their talents, offerings and investment opportunities, on a global and internationally engaged stage.
What can India’s HoReCa sector look forward to from Expo 2020 Dubai – from the lens of exhibitors or visitors?
Dubai is already acting as a gateway to India (its second-largest trading partner), Africa and Latin America. With Expo 2020’s capital expenditure at AED25 billion, this investment will spur wider economic impact in key sectors, including tourism, hospitality and business services.
Expo 2020 Dubai has leveraged the UAE’s position as a global nexus point to convene more than 200 participants and millions of visitors, to inspire meaningful change and create a brighter future for us all. Leveraging Dubai’s world-class infrastructure and business-friendly regulatory frameworks, it has acted as a catalyst – opening up new markets and opportunities – with an extensive business programming calendar that is purpose-built to attract investment, forge new partnerships and promote international cooperation.
As a strategic platform for India’s HoReCa sector to meet suppliers, build on key relationships and influencers in the hospitality industry, Expo 2020 Dubai will showcase a variety of Indian exhibitors and products that will be of key interest to the UAE’s own burgeoning hospitality sector as well as other international participants. This can only mean a further cementing of business ties, opportunity creation, and new initiatives to be discussed among peers, as well as with the general public.
What can Indian business owners learn at the event, which could benefit their business?
Expo 2020 Dubai is a global platform that will help the Indian food and hospitality industry to connect with collaborators and widen its customer base, receive support beyond monetary gains, enter new partnerships, and benefit from Expo 2020’s extensive business-focused programmes like ‘Thrive Together’.
This initiative builds on the UAE’s reputation for facilitating business and trade, with world-class infrastructure, business-friendly regulatory frameworks and a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. It also leverages the connecting power of Expo 2020 Dubai, which across 182 days will bring together 192 nations, as well as multilateral organisations, academic institutions and millions of visitors to inspire meaningful change and create a brighter future for all.
Does that mean that the HoReCa has a significant opportunity at the event?
The HoReCA sector is a key importer of ingredients, foodstuffs and beverages that often cannot be sourced locally. Therefore, the rapid expansion of the Indian HoReCa sector must be met with an international mindset, as well as cater to a customer increasingly well-travelled with more discerning expectations augmenting every day.
Expo 2020 Dubai will be an important springboard for many in the hospitality sector to not only gain exposure through this truly international gathering of shared mindsets, but also be a platform from which to learn from the experience of others and help support the joint efforts of international tourism and hospitality that will benefit the industry as a whole.
How will the hybrid nature of the event benefit exhibitors?
To provide smooth transactions and ease of doing business, Expo 2020 Dubai is committed to harnessing dynamic technology to provide exhibitors, as well as visitors, with an enriched experience onsite or wherever they may be in the world. The goal of the Virtual Expo is to complement our physical offering.
The Expo 2020 Business App matches users with similar interests and objectives among the global business community, with the objective of facilitating meaningful business to business (B2B), business to government (B2G), and government to government (G2G) interactions, across geographies and industries. Powered by artificial intelligence and available for mobile and desktop, it suggests potential matches for users based on their profiles, expertise, goals and interaction patterns – ensuring every business visitor can meet their business objectives.
Dubai expects 25 million visits for Expo 2020. What percentage of this will comprise B2B visitors?
Expo has signed over 1,200 Authorised Ticket Resellers worldwide and these ATRs are creating various types of itineraries for families, business travellers, specialist segments such as architecture enthusiast, foodies, arts and culture fans and others. We also have airline collaboration which includes Expo ticket as part of the flight booking; cruise operators who are promoting Expo, UAE hotels who are including Expo ticket as part of the accommodation booking so we expect a significant percentage of international bookings will be via B2B channels.
Will the continuing obstacles to foreign travel cause the UAE to fall short of its economic projections from the events?
The UAE is now open to foreign tourists and is welcoming visitors from all the corners of world. Our target of 25 million visits is based on an extensive piece of work, incorporating inputs from previous Expos, UAE tourism and airport authorities, cruise terminals and airlines amongst others.
The UAE continues to drive global tourism recovery, and Expo 2020 Dubai is the largest global gathering of this size and cultural diversity since the start of Covid-19. By updating our vaccination and testing requirements, we have opened up a world of discovery and education for every visitor from every corner of the planet, enabling the world to experience Expo 2020’s incredible offering in a safe and secure manner.
