Case study analysis

Case Study 3
Dubais Marhaba to the Expo 2020 Tourists: TheBig Picture
Authors: Sudha Bhatia & Syed Munawwar Ahmed

University
By
Mentor

Ajman university of Science and Technology

Madiha Muhammad yaqub
Ammara javed
Joseph George M. Lutta

Member(s) profile:
1st member:
My name is Madiha Muhammad yaqub and I am a 3rd year Bsc in
business management student at Ajman university of Science and
Technology. I am 22 years of age. I like reading books and articles in my
leisure time. My ideal person whom I like to follow the most is Indra
Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo. Apart from that in future I would like to
continue my studies by having a Masters degree in business consultancy
and analytics followed by a PhD in any inter-discipline field of research
comprised of business studies with unconventional areas of science and
technology.

2nd Member:
I'm Ammara Javed. Studying in the final
year of biomedical engineering.
My dream job is to work with one
of these multinational
countries GE, Philips or Siemens in
healthcare department and
get my master in the field of engineering management

Mentor profile:
Name: Joseph George M. Lutta
Qualifications: Ph.D. Human Resources
and Leadership Development (2008),
Louisiana State University, USA.
Biography:
Dr. Joseph George Lutta is an Assistant Professor of Management. He is interested in pursuing
higher educational goals by empowering learners with the essential Knowledge, Skills, and
Abilities (KSA) of modern economics. His approach is to create a greater student centered
classroom environment that promotes collaboration of newly learned information.

Case study summary:

In 2013, Dubai won the bid to host the world expo 2020, beating turkey, Russia and Brazil, its one of a
kind event to be held in the MENA region. World Expo is held every 5 years for a period of 6 months.
Dubai is getting ready to offer hopes and aspirations to 25 Million of its visitors under the title of
Connecting Minds, Creating the Future from 20 th October 2020 to 10th April 2021. For the preparation
of this mega event, changes are being made in the tourism, hospitality, residential and commercial sector
as 70% of the 25 Million will be from overseas. In the year 2012 UAE has recorded 10 Million
international visitors. In 2013, the travel and tourism industry directly contributed AED 56.5 billion to the
national GDP line and attractions such as the Louvre, Yas Island, and the Ferrari World Tourist Park etc.
would only drive numbers upwards.
In 2011-2014 Dubai managed to serve a large number of tourists with mostly upper upscale and luxury
hotels but as from September 2014 Dubais occupancy rate dripped down to almost 78% and will likely
remain like that until the demand for expo 2020 catches up with it. The travel and tourism sector on the
other hand is contributing in the GDP directly and indirectly by 4.2% p.a and at the pace at which hotels
are constructed ensures that UAE has the potential of serving 25 million visitors during the six months of
expo 2020 event. Also the long term based planning ensures the balance between six months long expo
operations as well as the afterlife with a defined strategy of reuse. The planning based on business
environment, fiscal policies, manageable levels of inflation, and nurturing of the workforce is being
planned years ahead along with the Dubai vision 2020 and Abu Dhabis vision 2030 clear states that expo
2020 is nothing but a milestone is Dubais tourism journey.

1. Discuss Dubais unique preparations for Expo 2020 in comparison to preparations by

previous host economies.

There are many factors that make Dubais preparation unique as compared to previous host
economies such as during the biding process; the team had a rigorous and clear master plan
already in the pipeline which ensured that Dubai is on track to delivering a truly exceptional
World Expo in 2020. Another factor that makes them unique is that Dubai expo2020 is going to
be a true world Expo, one that is globally inclusive in reach, stimulating greater collaboration
across the worlds public and private sector. Dubai expo2020 is going to mark the history in
world expo by following a one country one pavilion policy which has never been done before.
We can summarize the detailed master plan devised by the committee in the following 3
categories:
Mobility: A ballpark figure of approximately $5 billion was estimated to be dispensed into
the transport sector, not just for immediate needs of the event, but also for further expansion
of the airport and metro tracks. An extension to the existing Dubai Metro (Red Line) will be
constructed along with a dedicated station on the Expo site to encourage maximum usage of
public transport systems. Additionally, a bespoke low-emission bus service will transport
visitors to and from the Expo from pick-up points throughout the UAE, situated in key hotel
and major population areas.
Sustainability: Sustainability is also a core facet of the Dubai Expo 2020 Master Plan
design. Detailed targets and overarching strategies have been developed to ensure that
sustainability is achieved in the design of Dubai Expo 2020 pavilions and related buildings
and infrastructure, focusing on demand reduction, use of alternative sources, re-use and
recycling across energy, water, waste, materials and supply. A key ambition of Dubai Expo
2020 is to supply at least 50% of the Expo Sites energy needs over its six-month duration
with energy from renewable sources.(1)
Economic development: In the next six years, over 275,000 jobs are estimated to be created
across the Region to service the Expo, across several sectors linked to Expo delivery and
legacy transition plans such as tourism, aviation, construction, real estate, engineering,
infrastructure; logistics, transportation, hospitality and retail. Expo 2020 Dubai officially
launched its business engagement programme to more than 250 senior regional and global
corporate leaders at an event held on the future Expo 2020 Dubai site. (2)

2. (a) How is the hotel and tourism industry expected to benefit from the influx of tourists
during the mega event?
Before we start off discussing about the potential benefits of expo2020 on the hospitality and
tourism sector, we must keep in mind the fact that this market is already an established industry.
With 10 million visitors in just 2012, foreign direct investment worth 21 billion AED in 2013,
tourism-related construction projects worth 9.95 billion AED and by the end of 2016 UAEs
tourism and hospitality sector is predicted to surge north by $7.5 billion. In 2013 UAE managed
to successfully retain 92% of tourist spends in the country, even after the financial breakdown of
2008 the country witnessed a high occupancy rate of 81% in 2011 which comprised mostly of
luxury and upper class services consisting of 35000+ rooms. Luxury 5 stars and above hotels are
accounted 40.6% of the whole hotel industry in UAE, however in 2014 Dubai witnessed an
occupancy drop rate of 77.5% because of surplus availability caused by every year increase in
the hotel industry by 7.6% p.a. Since 2012 jobs increased in the tourism and hospitality industry
from 380000 to 496500 and due to Expo additional 110000 jobs are expected to be created with a
growth rate of 2% p.a. by the end of 2024, the tourism and hospitality industry is expected to
contribute directly and indirectly in the GDP of UAE by 1 billion via healthy growth rate of
4.2% p.a.
The potential benefits of expo towards tourism and hospitality sector:
Launching pad: With the above mentioned statistics, one thing is for sure that UAE is
destined to be the tourist and hospitality hub in the region and Expo can provide this
industry the opportunities needed to reach this target.
Benchmark opportunity: Being exposed worldwide and with the help of a successful
expo campaign, other tourism industries present in countries around the world will
consider UAE tourism market as a benchmark.
To be the next MICE destination: MICE or meetings industry is a type of tourism in
which large groups, usually planned well in advance, are brought together for a particular
purpose. With the expo success Dubai can be the next top MICE destination resulting in
increase in tourism.
A learning experience: With great expectations come great responsibilities and with
expo the whole world is looking forward to Dubais tourism sectors performance.
Because of this the hospitality industry will get the opportunity to widen its scope of
horizon and in the process of that, increase their expertise to a new high level.
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(b) Also highlight some of the key challenges they would face in the buildup and post the
event?
Handling 25 million visitors is not an easy task especially when more than 70% of the
spectaculars are from beyond the borders. The challenges faced by the tourism and hospitality
sector can be:

Build up phase:
Accomplishments of the targets: With a total of 751 hotel establishments in plan, any
unambiguous or unstable situation is not acceptable in this scenario. Being on track and
having clear information about the growth statistics can be a hard struggle for UAE.
Political and social instability of the region: As we know that more than 70% of the
spectaculars are from outside the gulf region, for them the very first concern would be of
security. Although UAE is known for its peaceful living conditions, the ongoing riots and
conflicts in the Arab world can discourage a noticeable number of visitors.
Energy capacity: UAE meets most of its energy requirements by non-renewable resources.
Even though UAE is not experiencing any kind of energy crisis but that does not mean that a
large number of investment is needed in alternative energy resources.
Integration with other functional departments: As expo2020 is going to be a 6 month long
event, the delayed or outdated processes of other departments such as the transportation,
medical, residential, commercial, and civil sectors will eventually effect the tourism industry.
Information Systems: As UAE is expecting a large number of visitors, a very systematic
approach is needed by the tourism sector to handle the information about them i.e. their
arrival procedure, which type of hotels they are staying at, what kind of tourism attractions
are most liked etc.
Post the event:
Departure procedures: As UAEs tourism vision is not ending with expo2020 rather it is
expecting the visitors to come back again, thats why a proper systematic approach is needed
to bid the tourists a farewell only to find them visit UAE again for a pleasurable experience.
Sudden drop in occupancy rate: Without a gradual decreasing rate in tourists, UAE might
face a sudden drop in occupancy rates which will eventually affect all the other sectors.
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 Handling tourist influx due to Qatar fifa world cup: Chances of a unified visa of the GCC
region shows that during Qatars Fifa World Cup in 2021 might bring a large number of
tourists again in a very short span of time after Expo2020. Leaving UAE with a small period
of time to be ready for this influx.
Surplus employment issue: Due to expo2020 UAEs tourism industry experienced a high
rate of increase in the employment sector. But with the ending of expo2020 UAE might
witness a significant in unemployment rate.

3. Suggest alternate strategies the government can adopt to generate similar traffic and
avoid a drop in the occupancy rates post the event?
With all the strategic planning in tourism, hospitality, residential and commercial sector, the
nation looks set to ride the Expo2020 wave and showcase its sustainability even once the 2020
hype dies. With Dubai vision 2020 and Abu Dhabi vision 2030 in place, the post phase of Expo
which is ghost expo seems nothing but a myth since Dubai strongly feels that expo in nothing
but a milestone in its tourism journey and the destination is far higher and brighter. In order to
continue with the same spirits post the expo, government can adopt the following alternative
strategies:
Abundant Tourist Attractions: In order to avoid drop in the occupancy rate the main focus
of the government should be the buildup of the tourism sector. All the states should be
focused upon equally, abandoning none. The likes of Yas Island and Ferrari World should be
built in all the states. UAE must design its attractions in such a way that no matter which
class, background, country or culture a person belongs, a visit to UAE must be written in his
bucket list under the title a must see spot. In order to flourish tourism, a surplus amount of
the national budget should be spent on building the infrastructure of the country so that it can
further give rise to a wide range of job opportunities.
Systems for trend projection: With rapid advancements in technology, organizations are
able to track trends present in the customer data which helps them further predict the needs of
their customers in the future and make preparations accordingly.
Publicizing, Advertising and Package tours: The countrys tourism industry has attracted
940 million tourist arrivals in 2010. In order to maintain a similar flow in the tourism
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industry, the country should focus on publicizing the rich culture and environment with eyecatching and intriguing websites/blogs along with advertisements through radio, TV,
magazine and posters. Therefore UAE must digitalize its strategies especially for the
hospitality sector to let the whole world know about the world class services offered by it in
the right and effective way. Initiation of tour packages offering tours with quality and lower
price should also take place. UAE can segment its potential hospitality customers in many
groups and provide them services based on the assessment of their needs.
Leisure to corporate shift: After expo, UAE has the perfect opportunity to exploit the
corporate market present around the world. It must build attractions that suit the needs of
world best organization for the purpose of meetings, conferences, investments etc. Also the
government should focus on conducting similar large-scale events e.g. International Sports
tournaments etc.

Bibliography
1. http://expo2020dubai.ae. [Online] april 28, 2014. [Cited: may 8, 2015.]
http://expo2020dubai.ae/en/news/article/expo_2020_master_plan_development_outl
ined.
2. http://expo2020dubai.ae. [Online] april 22, 2015. [Cited: may 8, 2015.]
http://expo2020dubai.ae/en/news/article/expo_2020_dubai_launches_business_enga
gement_programme. 2.