Coin-op amusements news | Dubai’s Expo set to boost tourism

Millions of tourists are set to visit Dubai for the delayed Expo 2020, which is set to run from October 1 this year through to March 31 2022.

The amusement and attractions industry has been buoyed by the promise of the resulting degree of “normal” business, promised by the director general of the emirate’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Helal Al Marri.

He asserted last week that the emirate is determined to go ahead with the celebration, despite the spike in infections that has occurred as a result of Dubai opening up to tourism just before Christmas. In fact, Al Marri blamed that spike on a small number of locals ignoring the regulations.

“We are confident,” he said, “that we will be ready to make sure that the growth starts this summer, and by Expo in the fourth quarter, we look forward to welcoming the world.”

The Expo is one of the world’s biggest organised events. If it goes ahead, it will generate billions in revenue for the government and the tourist industry in general. The infection rate in Dubai has risen four-fold over the Christmas and New Year period, but Al Marri was clear that the blame for this rested with the locals.

He said: “We had a 98 per cent compliance and saw no increase in infections, but when that level of compliance dropped by a small margin, we saw the infection rate increase.”

Since then, the UAE has been one of the world’s most efficient destinations in the roll-out of vaccinations, with around a third of the entire population inoculated by early February.