Majority of UAE residents feel Expo 2020 will boost economy – survey

A large majority of UAE residents are looking forward to the Expo 2020 event scheduled for later this year, a new survey has found.

The survey by YouGov, which polled 1,004 respondents across the UAE, revealed that 67 per cent are keen to visit the mega event in October 2020.

More than half (55 per cent) of UAE residents hold the conviction that the event will boost the UAE and Dubai’s economy. Meanwhile, 51 per cent believe that it will attract prospective investments and increase the influx of tourists in the country (50 per cent).

As many as 49 per cent feel that Dubai Expo will enhance the country’s reputation as a business hub while 48 per cent feel that it will lead to creation of more jobs.

Amongst nationality groups, Arab expats (47 per cent) are most hopeful that the Dubai Expo will galvanise the hospitality, real estate and recreation sectors.

However, the survey revealed that awareness around the stipulated mega event is considerably low as only 28 per cent were aware of District 2020, 36 per cent respondents were clueless, and an equal proportion of people had only heard of it but were not entirely sure what it was.

Attendee classification

Working professionals (72 per cent) are more likely to visit the Expo event than non-working residents (51 per cent) while married people, especially ones with children, are more keen to visit.

Older adults, typically aged 30 or more, are more likely to be present than younger adults across the country.

Similarly, among those likely to visit, more than half (52 per cent) are planning to attend the Expo show at its launch while 15 per cent  are likely to attend  the closing ceremony.

While two in five individuals will attend specific events, only 10 per cent will join the celebrations after going through attendee reviews. Equally, 10 per cent are currently unsure of their attendance.

Among the attendees, many are excited to watch the advent of culture and education (38 per cent each).

Gender-wise, a considerable number of men are keen for sporting events (35 per cent) while 41 per cent female attendees are keen to experience architecture (41 per cent) and music (33 per cent) at the event.

Most people are likely to visit the mega event on short frequency tickets; as many as 29 per cent prefer the one-day ticket, while 26 per cent respondents are planning to buy the three-day multiple entry ticket leaving 21 per cent and 9 per cent who prefer the monthly and six-month pass respectively.