As Switzerland & Australia Confirm Expo 2021 participation, Dubai is expecting Boost in Tourism
The postponement of the World Expo from 2020 to 2021 was accompanied with a lot of disappointment for prospective visitors all over the world. But many remain committed.
After conducting a meeting last week, the Federal Council gave a green flag to Switzerland’s participation in the Expo 2021.
Following the announcement, the Council has ordered Presence Switzerland at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) to continue preparations for the Swiss at the Dubai event with a new set of budgetary framework.
Commissioner General of the Swiss Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai -Manuel Salchi, made the announcement, quoting, “I am happy to announce that Switzerland confirmed its presence at the Expo 2020 Dubai in 2021 and joins the consensus in favour of the postponement in solidarity with the organizer and all participants. We herewith reaffirm our strong commitment to the success of Expo 2020 Dubai”.
The postponement of the Expo 2020 will surely increase costs for all participating countries who were earlier preparing for the event scheduled to be held this year. As per Switzerland’s Federal Council, large-scale events like the Expo 2021 are a great opportunity to promote the country’s economy, especially after the coronavirus outbreak is controlled.
Another country participating in the event despite the postponement is Australia. As stated by Justin McGowan, the Commissioner General of Australia at Expo 2020 Dubai, participation at the event was a “straight-forward decision” for the country. He added, “We are great friends with the UAE and we’ve had a strong relationship for many years. The financial, logistics, and the ideation hub, that is Dubai, is really a place where the world comes together.”
As countries all over the world speed up their preparations for the Expo 2021, Dubai is expecting to see great improvement in its economy due to the event. As per analysts, the market is not much likely to see any new event launches in 2020 and 2021. Even property firms in the country are optimistic about the future. Chairman of Damac Properties Hussain Sajwani, says, “I don’t think we are going to see more (project) launches in most of 2020 and 2021. Then in October 2021 when Expo starts, we could see the market is going to change in a positive way”. He added, “2020 is going to be a difficult year for everybody as Covid-19 is not going to disappear in a month or two. The government is working on a lot of plans for Expo 2020 in terms of tourism and creating demand. Since supply is, anyway, going to be halted, so let us push the demand.”
If we believe scientists and health professionals who are actively engaged in making a vaccine for the coronavirus, which is said to be ready by April next year, large-scale events like the Expo 2021 will not witness much fall. Besides being a great opportunity for the Middle Eastern country, the Expo 2021 is also going to benefit the severely hit travel and tourism industry in the long run.
