A leaked document suggests the failure of UAE plans to meet the aims set for the Dubai Expo 2020 four months after opening the doors to visitors.
A confidential document concerning the financial data of the Dubai Expo 2020 has leaked out by unknown sources. The documents indicate that Abu Dhabi is far from its expectations of the expo due to various challenges.
The falling number of visitors and low financial interests turned the Dubai Expo to a costly event for the UAE. The document is in form of a letter from Najeeb Mohammed Al-Ali, Executive Director at Dubai Expo to Reem Ebrahim Al-Hashimi, managing director for Dubai Expo.
The recipient is also the Emirati Minister of State for International Cooperation making the letter a meaningful and significant correspondence. The document is an assessment report for Al-Hashimi and has been under collection and analysis since the start of the Expo on her order. It relates the efficacy and financial condition of the Dubai expo considering the developments and expectations in the sustainability report.
Based on the leaked document, the four-month experience of the Dubai Expo proved disappointing. The Dubai expo attracted 5 million visitors so far, leaving a gap of 20 million away from the plans. Besides, a major number of visitors have been from inside the country.
The document has referred to 4 issues impacting the quantity and quality of visitors. Firstly, the adversary activities by opposition groups inside and outside the country negatively affected the Expo. Secondly, a European Union call to boycott the Expo on Emirati humanitarian records disappointed a large group of potential visitors.
As a third reason, the Executive Director said the one-year delay of the Dubai Expo damaged the outcome. And finally, the pandemic had its expected impacts on the popular event.
Dubai Expo; A Billion-Dollar Failure
The document data also shows that less than half of the countries in UAE plans met the host requirements. From the 192 countries in the Expo sustainability report, only 78 countries, panels, and organizations had considerable involvement. The remaining sufficed with shallow and tourism activities.
A major part of the failure in Dubai Expo 2020 occurred in managing the financial transactions inside the UAE. The outcome, however, proved disappointing with 43% of deals, treaties, and transactions occurring through foreign banks and financial agencies. This left Abu Dhabi with no profit from less than half of the trading that occurred in the expo.
While seemingly too early to talk about, the financial revenue of the expo for UAE might be far away from the plans. Based on the document, a 110-billion-dirham GDP as the gift of the expo would be no way close to realization. At hoteling, services, and construction, the value added has no conformity with the plans.
The outcome of the failure to meet the primary aims led to an imbalance between the expenses and income. The document reveals that the income fell short of the aims by 57%, leaving the interest sphere fragile.
The report also claims that some pavilion holders like France, Germany, and Japan managed to gain higher interests than UAE. The host, as such, acted as a money collector for other countries, organizations, and panels.
Of the underlying reasons behind the failure of Dubai Expo 2020 is the economic recession due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Besides, the risks of physical involvement and focusing on social media to attract the customers further complicated the condition.
Political and security issues have also had adverse results. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other regional nations had no inclination to boost the expo.
