CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR
WORLD EXPO DUBAI 2020
Rania Jaber |
Executive Summary
As far as the World Expos reached today, it implemented and enabled an exceptionally large
number of people to travel and experience innovative technologies showcased in diversified
regions worldwide (Bureau International des Expositions). Empowering social and economical
transformation which results with outstanding developments in all the nations that have hosted
the World Expo (Bureau International des Expositions). Nonetheless, the imprints left behind
consisted of both beneficial and undesirable factors that could be taken into account in order
to further enhance the event and its impact it had on the previous world expo hosts. Shanghai
set a record of being the costliest with 73 million visitors and having the highest number of
nations involved more than any other expo (Deloitte, 2014).
Furthermore, this study will evaluate the emerging trends, revenue figures, opportunities,
challenges, economic fundamentals of previous expos and the upcoming 2020 to reveal what
key elements should be of optimal focus to satisfy attendees and sustain such a massive growth
reaching far beyond just targeting the youth but also be referred to as a lasting legacy (First
Qatar Real Estate Development Co., 2015). By also compiling the current plans and projects
that are currently being designed in accordance to the main theme, this will unravel the
potential influences and lead us to finding a solution for the following business question.
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Table of Contents
Business Question ............................................................................................ 4
Background ...................................................................................................... 6
Introduction ..................................................................................................... 7
Data Presentation, Analysis and Research Findings ...................................... 8
References ...................................................................................................... 33
3
Business Question
What can organizers and hosts of the world expo do to ensure future success and substantial
growth in planning for Expo 2020?
Aim
The aim of this paper is to analyze the potential impacts of World Expo on Dubai’s sectors of
Real Estate, hospitality and tourism, infrastructure, transportation and the economy as a whole
while assessing the previous impacts and event yields of Expo Milan. The current
developments in Dubai will create a deeper understanding on how it would be able to sustain
all the projects which are bound to be completed prior to or during the Expo 2020.
Objectives
1. To deduce what Dubai will develop in the upcoming Expo Dubai 2020.
a. What aspects will be of optimal focus in regards to Real Estate, hospitality and
tourism, infrastructure, transportation and the economy in order to prove a
remarkable event?
b. What opportunities will the event create in the future especially that is hosted
for the first time in the MENA region?
c. What challenges will the organizers face with all the projects put in place as the
exposition commences.
2. To evaluate the necessary elements that World Expo requires to impact Dubai with a
positive yield.
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a. How can the organizers facilitate entry in Dubai to promote the Expo and ensure
an increase in their targeted audience occurs internationally?
b. What are the assumptions being made on revenue figures and what are the main
economical factors that could allow Dubai to considerably grow? What are the
employment level assumptions being made?
c. What could the planners implement to create a memorable and unique
experience? How can they differentiate themselves?
d. What will be the overall impact on Dubai with all the project being implemented
at the moment?
e. How will they compete with Milan?
3. To analyze the innovative approach and outcome of World Expo Milan 2015.
a. What were the assumptions made prior to the Expo Milan in terms of Air traffic
and tourism?
b. What infrastructure and transportation developments did Milan develop and
was it useful for the future?
c. Was the overall experience of the Expo valuable and did they reach the expected
number of attendees or visitors?
d. Which economic aspects of the event did they succeed in and what stages did
they cost-effectively organize?
e. What impact did the expo have on tourist arrivals and the hospitality industry?
5
Background
Dubai has competed with various countries such as Russia, Turkey and Brazil to host the World
Expo 2020 (First Qatar Real Estate Development Co., 2015). It is said to be the first in the
MENA region to acquire such an extensively large renowned event. Their feasibility approach
and strategic planning have earned them a time to break records and utilize its various
advantages as Dubai is recognized for its global connectivity and innovative advancements.
Dubai is a fast pace and multinational destination, relatively diversified by nature (First Qatar
Real Estate Development Co., 2015). The city is comprised of 90% expatriates amounting to
more than two million citizens from around 200 different nationalities (First Qatar Real Estate
Development Co., 2015).
Also known as the hub where its convenient setting is populated with ongoing flights. Dubai’s
International Airport welcomed 51 million travelers via 150 airlines in the year 2012 (Shane,
2013). According to research, the city is described as the most favored for trading in the MENA
district (First Qatar Real Estate Development Co., 2015). In the previous years, Dubai’s
economy was initially overly dependent on oil and gas, however, it has notably developed its
infrastructure, sectors of tourism, real estate, banking, trade and manufacturing (First Qatar
Real Estate Development Co., 2015). Politically, Dubai is relatively a secure region and has
proved to be politically stable during the Arab Spring where it experienced a number of
inbounds from around countries that have been influenced by the conflict (First Qatar Real
Estate Development Co., 2015). Furthermore, a crucial aspect that affects a countries’ economy
is the level of corruption. In the case of Dubai, it was voted as one of the most secure regions
particularly after the Arab Spring that impacted most of the Middle Eastern territories (First
Qatar Real Estate Development Co., 2015).
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Introduction
The Bureau des Exposition is a well established organization that has accomplished and
delivered outstanding expositions worldwide, formed in 1928 by the Convention of Paris
(Bureau International des Expositions). “The role of the BIE is to regulate the frequency of
exhibitions under its jurisdiction, to ensure their quality and to guarantee that they are
organized in compliance with international law” (Bureau International des Expositions).
Expositions are bound to transform destinations socially, economically and culturally while
providing immaculate opportunities to the city hosting the event. An example would be the
1889 World Expo in Paris in which the Eiffel Tower was built as the entrance of the exhibition.
Today the Eiffel Tower has become the most iconic monument that symbolizes the entire city,
attracting millions of visitors on a yearly basis (Bureau International des Expositions).
Expositions regenerates and accelerates a city towards numerous economical benefits,
improving sectors of tourism and providing numerous job opportunities (First Qatar Real Estate
Development Co., 2015).
(Bureau International des Expositions)
The following independent research study will tackle and examine the various areas that all
organizers of Expo Dubai are currently planning to ensure the success of such a mega event
that is set to launch in 2020. Through their development and innovative approaches in terms of
infrastructure, technology, transportation, construction and real estate, hospitality and tourism,
7
capital market, retail, banking and employment, Dubai will prosper and apply its aims and
objectives which is apparent in their given event theme, “Connecting minds, Creating the
Future” (Bureau International des Expositions). The stated theme incorporates three main
aspects: “mobility, sustainability and opportunity” (Bureau International des Expositions).
Their mission is evidently a unique approach to the society we live in today and in order to
accommodate to such a mega event, numerous projects are going to be put in place that will
subsequently follow a high influx of visitors to the city, requiring scrupulous procedures and a
strong foundation (Deloitte, 2014).This research will comprise of data collected both
qualitatively and quantitatively from Expo Milan/Shanghai and the present 2020 projects that
are being implemented and exposed internationally.
Data Presentation, Analysis and Research Findings
The following data collected will analyze the potential impact that Expo 2020 will have on
Dubai while comparing data from the two most recent World Expos, Expo Milan 2015 and
Shanghai 2010. Through presenting both qualitative and quantitative data on the mentioned
World Expos, as being part of the management team of DTCM (Department of Tourism and
Commerce Marketing) this will therefore further aid the team and I to answer the business
question, deliver precautions necessary to eliminate risk and provide evidence on how Dubai
will sustain its projects post the Expo. An opportunity that will trigger further growth and
embrace a more innovative approach to the business world today involving millions of people
worldwide.
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According to a study conducted by Qatar Real Estate Development, “Dubai Expo 2020 is likely
to generate approximately 23 billion dollars (24.4 percent of Dubai’s current GDP) between
the years 2015 and 2021, and it is likely to boost Dubai economy to an average of 6.4 percent
a year from 2014 to 2016, and potentially to 10 percent by 2020”. The possible results that this
event will create in the long term mainly circulate around the hospitality and construction
industries offering 277,000 job vacancies (First Qatar Real Estate Development Co., 2015).
Subsequently, demand for housing will surge along with infrastructure expenditure (Emirates
NBD Bank , 2013). In regards to real estate, a potential increase of 5 to10 percent in property
prices will cause transactions to rise. Nonetheless, minimal transactions are expected if the
percent increase is greater than 10 (Emirates NBD Bank , 2013).
A crucial point that Dubai should take into account would be the pitfalls of a price increase in
the real estate sector as it will impact the cost of living without indicating any increase in
salaries. Therefore, driving the workforce to choose other affordable housing. Real Estate
companies are advised to take concrete measure and forecast thoroughly with the possibility of
altering the prices according to income in order to sustain investors and prevent a negative
yield before Expo 2020 (Emirates NBD Bank , 2013). While the hospitality industry will have
more of an advantage as it is mostly dependent on tourist inflow from Expo 2020.
As displayed in the graphs below, in the past two to three years, signs of recovery have been
of evidence as residential prices escalated and hotel occupancy increased by 7 percent from
2012 to 2013 (Emirates NBD Bank , 2013). Apartment prices increase by 16 percent YTD and
villas by 10 percent YTD. While apartment and villa rentals surged by 16 percent. As the Expo
gets closer, Real Estate agents are keen on on raising their prices seeing that their properties’
are worth more than its original set price, however this will more likely shift their sales as the
workforce’s income might not rise (Emirates NBD Bank , 2013).
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(Emirates NBD Bank , 2013)
(Emirates NBD Bank , 2013)
Looking at more recent data collected by Emirates NBD results indicate the following:
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A 4.8 percent increase in the amount of transactions is visible in January yet on a yearly basis
it demonstrates a decrease due to apartments sales while villa sales increased by 4.4%
(Emirates NBD Bank , 2013).
.
(Emirates NBD Bank , 2013)
The below graph denotes a decline in rent for the month of January. However, it still reveals a
high yield as it only decreased marginally.
11
(Emirates NBD Bank , 2013)
A large amount of government spending is currently of evidence as Dubai’s government is
targeting sectors of hospitality, construction and real estate as it prepares for the upcoming
Expo. The size of the venue in which the Dubai Expo will be held at, amid Dubai and Abu
Dhabi, amounts to 4.3 million square-meter (First Qatar Real Estate Development Co., 2015).
The construction cost totals to approximately 6.9 billion dollars which further highlights the
significant costs associated with this event. The site is situated in Jebel Ali close to the recently
built Al Makhtoum International Airport as a large number of attendees are expected (First
Qatar Real Estate Development Co., 2015).
Groundbreaking infrastructure developments for Expo 2020
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Depth: 6 meters
Height: 8 meters
Cost: 545 million dollars
Dubai
Completion date: October 2016
Water
Aim: to link Business bay with
Canal
the Arabian Gulf.
Project
Comprises: 4 hotels, luxury
apartment, shopping center,
public areas, marinas, trade
center and 450 F&B outlets.
Location: Around the Dubai
International Financial Centre,
nearby Jumeirah Emirates
Museum of
Towers.
the Future
Cost: 200 million dollars
Completion Date: 2017
Comprises: displays of
innovative inventions,
workshops, events and
sophisticated courses.
Location: Amongst Al
Makhtoum Bridge, Baniyas
Road, Floating Bridge
Jewel of the
Creek
Cost: 816 million dollars
Completion date: 2017
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Comprises: two luxury hotels,
convention center, marina, shops
and restaurants, apartments and
office stories.
Location: Sheikh Zayed Road
Cost:3 billion dollars
Completion date: 2016
Al Habtoor
Comprises: Three hotels: St.
City
Regis, Westin and W. Three
residential towers.
Location: Four islands
Cost:150 million dollars
Completion date: 2018
Deira
Islands
Comprises: Shopping center,
marina, amphitheater, hotels, and
apartments.
Location: Next to Burj Khalifa
and Dubai Mall
Cost:10 billion dollars
MBR City-
Completion date: 2016-2017
District One
Comprises: Hospitality facilities,
artificial beach, green spaces and
lagoons and entertainment.
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Location: In the center of Dubai
Creek
Cost: not announced
Aladdin
Completion date: not announced
City
Comprises: Connecting towers,
hotels and commercial space.
Location:
Cost:2.72 billion dollars
Completion date: 2018
Al Mamzar
Comprises: Hotels, residential
Beachfront
components, walking tracks and
merchandize.
Location: Near Jumeirah Beach
Residence
Cost:6 billion AED
Bluewaters
Island
Completion date:
Comprises: Highest Ferris
Wheel, hospitality, merchandize,
5-star boutique hotel,
entertainment, residence.
Leading Touristic attraction
worldwide.
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Location: Nearby Dubai Creek
Cost: not announced
Completion date:
Dubai Creek Comprises:6 Worlds tallest twin
Harbour
towers, 22 hotels, retail and
offices.
(McGinley, 2015)
According to Deloitte UAE, assumptions were raised in regards to the overall impact that the
Expo will have on Dubai and the affect is believed to reach further than the UAE as their theme
emphasizes on “connecting minds and creating the future” (Deloitte, 2014). In regards to
financial aspects, where investors from all over the Middle East will be motivated to invest in
the upcoming projects that range from infrastructure and real estate developments. It is
expected that a growth in mergers and acquisitions will occur, allowing the economy to flourish
providing world changing opportunities (Deloitte, 2014).
As for the Hospitality and tourism sectors, according to the managing partner of Deloitte, Anis
Sadek, he states a repetitive term that is used to describe Expo 2020 which is that it serves as
a “catalyst”, allowing the hospitality industry to grow rapidly as 20 million attendees over the
6 months are anticipated to enter Dubai. Moreover, a 70 million room occupancy is expected
resulting in a 10 billion consumer spending (Deloitte, 2014). Aside from Expo related arrivals,
16 million arrivals are believed to visit in 2020 (Deloitte, 2014). Moreover, in regards to job
opportunities, it is estimated that 277,000 vacancies will be created due to 50,000
accommodation requirements amongst 200 different outlets (Deloitte, 2014). A 4 percent
increase in GDP is expected and according to BOA Merril Lynch, 23 billion dollars is estimated
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to be generated starting this point till 2020 (Deloitte, 2014).The below table displays the
estimated number of rooms that Dubai supplies from 2012 to 2016 indicating a relatively
gradual increase. The shaded light blue refers to the hotels which are currently under
construction. Hotel funding by the year 2020 requires a cost of 7.2 billion dollars as more
properties are currently being built to support the excessive inflow of visitors of the Expo (First
Qatar Real Estate Development Co., 2015).
(Chebib, 2014)
The Expo venue currently being built will be the worlds largest and will cost 2 to 4 billion
dollars with the additional 8 billion on other infrastructure built to accommodate to the number
of visitors (Deloitte, 2014). As for transportation, developments implemented by the RTA will
cost 1.36 billion dollars as they extend the Dubai current metro (Deloitte, 2014).
Our department of tourism displayed data on inbound visitors to Dubai in 2015 which reached
14.2 million, revealing a 7.5 percent growth in comparison to the prior year (Writer, 2016).
The following fact indicated that, “Dubai was the fourth most visited city in the world last year
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stated Helal Almarri”, the director general of the department I represent “The GCC delivered
the highest share of visitor volumes for 2015, with a total of 3.3 million, up 12.8 percent over
the previous year, with Saudi Arabia remaining the largest source market” (Writer, 2016).
The following graph displays the increase in tourist arrivals according to Statista.
(Statista, 2016)
Additional preparation for the Expo revolve around energy consumption that requires an
environmentally friendly approach. Therefore, as anticipated the energy consumption will
increase by 50 percent which the Dubai Energy council could struggle with as their aim was to
try to reduce the current consumption by 30 percent (First Qatar Real Estate Development Co.,
2015). Development plans are being implemented that cost up to 30 billion dollars to put forth
a nuclear power plant by 2017 and new solar machinery that could fulfill 50% the energy
consumption on site derived from renewable sources (First Qatar Real Estate Development
Co., 2015). According to the Expo Dubai website, sustainability measure will be of crucial
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importance and will be the first to have taken such a rigorous approach in all of history (Bureau
International des Expositions).
Dubai’s GDP is perceived to surge as their costs amount to 24 billion dollars between 2014
and 2020. In the table shown below, the decline in the debt to GDP ratio is a positive yield
from the Expo and other developments. As the government continues to fund the infrastructure
developments and an increase in startups, demand will rise resulting in more liquidity (First
Qatar Real Estate Development Co., 2015).
(First Qatar Real Estate Development Co., 2015)
The Middle Eastern airline industry will be tremendously impacted as it perceived that 70% of
Expo visitors would be arriving from outside the UAE (First Qatar Real Estate Development
Co., 2015). Nonetheless, our organization, DTCM, has perceived substantial growth
throughout the long run as many of the developments implemented are not solely dependent
on the Expo but rather a strategy being put in place to expand tourism in Dubai as one of our
ultimate goals.
In order to accommodate Expo visitors in 2020, the UAE government will be implementing a
new set of regulations to take the opportunity of earning form different revenue channels
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(Oxford Business Group, 2016). To further enhance the cruise ship and medical tourism
divisions, new entry permits and visas are being implemented which consist of a 54 dollars’
fee for cruise ship tourists to enter several times instead of renewing by additional payment or
immigration requirements (Oxford Business Group, 2016). As for medical tourism, the fee
ranging from 150 to 381 dollars according to the number of entries (Oxford Business Group,
2016). Another benefit would be being able to enter Oman by having a UAE visa (Oxford
Business Group, 2016). New visas are a positive aspect that facilitates cruises for operators and
allowing travelers to choose other packages for a longer stay at hotels and to have the
opportunity to do all the site seeing in a matter of weeks instead of limiting it to 4 days stated
Sharp, the COO of Landmark Hospitality (Oxford Business Group, 2016).
Dubai’s target market revolves around Russia, China and India and the new visa alterations
which allows multiple entry, could boost their market due to tourist choosing to take a cruise
to Dubai from these countries. In addition to the free UAE 30-day tourist visa that was offered
to countries such as Malaysia, Australia, US, Canada and so forth, while other countries were
required to pay 169 dollars (Oxford Business Group, 2016). An inbound of 500,000 medical
tourists yearly is likely to visit Dubai in 2020. Consequently, amounting to 707.7 million
dollars of revenue per year (Oxford Business Group, 2016). Mall of the world aims at bringing
in medical tourist as it includes health centers and hotels (Oxford Business Group, 2016).
The following table divides the various changes that will be put into practice by the
organization I currently represent, DTCM.
New Classification
To obtain a positive yield in the hospitality
industry, new regulations in regards to
accommodation are included the following:
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. leasing a property to tourist for holiday has
to go through an agency.
Agency License fee: 30 dollars
Owners of over 20 properties are obliged to
retrieve a license from our company, thus
classifying the property as either standard or
deluxe.
The regulation being put in place are due to
enabling tourists to choose from a range of
accommodations, thus, emphasizing on the
regular quality standards check.
Holiday Lets
Tourism Tax
(Oxford Business Group, 2016)
 Logistics
 Aviation and transport
World Expo Milano 2015
World Expo Milan’s theme was “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life” and the perceived
number of attendees was twenty million during six months.
The following chart represents the number of attendees previously expected per month
(Poinelli & Buffa, 2014).
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Milan is considered to be Italy’s second largest city and includes two airports; Malpensa and
Linate international where each experienced different growth margins in the past years as
shown in the figure below. Milan is also known as the business and financial hub where
innovations are initially derived from both technological and scientific (Poinelli & Buffa,
2014). Due to Alitalia altering its base to Rome Fiumiciono Airport, it resulted in a decrease
of around one percent while Linate increased its international arrivals by five percent with a
decrease in domestic division recorded at three percent (Poinelli & Buffa, 2014). In 2014 a
growth rate of 6.4% travelers from Malpensa and 0.3percent in Linate (Poinelli & Buffa, 2014).
(Poinelli & Buffa, 2014)
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(Poinelli & Buffa, 2014)
By looking at the total overnight stay, it can be deduced that from 2009 to 2013, there was an
increase of 20%. Domestic over night stay during 2009 to 2013 comprised of 11 % (2.5 %
annual growth) compared to the international overnight estimate 31% in volume, a yearly
growth rate of 7 %. During the 5 years, average length of stay amounted to 2 says for
international and domestic visitors (Poinelli & Buffa, 2014). The assumptions were further
developed according to the year 2013 increase in total visits and overnight stays of more than
50% comprising of an increase of 6.3 million inbounds and more than 13.5 million bednights.
The growth rate was rather significant in all sorts of accommodation (Poinelli & Buffa,
2014). The following numerical implication further highlights the shift in Tourism demand as
the city was more likely to attract corporate and trade fair visitors.
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(Poinelli & Buffa, 2014)
According the Italian Statistics Office, the above chart highlights the “new emerging
markets” such as Russia, China and Japan, enabling Milan to further multiply its visitation
rates (Poinelli & Buffa, 2014). The demand shifting from corporate to leisure is evident and
as shown the main tourism markets coming into Milan are Germany, the UK, France, Russia,
U.S and China.
(Poinelli & Buffa, 2014)
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Seasonality in Milan as shown in the above diagram, one can deduce that the seasonality
fluctuations in 2013 began in the months of trade shows and business events from February,
April and September (Poinelli & Buffa, 2014). In addition, the lowest seasons are clearly
during the months of December, January and even the most least in August as it is a holiday
month (Poinelli & Buffa, 2014). As leisure demand peaks, seasonality will further fluctuate
according to the amount of inbound and hotel nights during the peak tourism months.
As for the hotel supply displayed in the chart 6 below, the inability to expand the hospitality
industry through additional hotels is claimed to be due to the insufficient space in the
province of Milan, obtaining permits and economic instability (Poinelli & Buffa, 2014). The
tables are divided into two key locations, the city of Milan and Milan Province and retrieved
from the Italian Statistics Office. The hotels are categorized according to their star
classification in order to highlight what sectors incurred more demand and new hotels will be
built according to the most demanded. The five-star category consumes 5.7% of the total
number of rooms compared to the entire province (Poinelli & Buffa, 2014). The most
prominent and demanded category is the four- star classification as it denotes 57 percent out
of the whole area. Whilst, the intermediate category consists of 1 to 3-star accommodation
and are claimed to be less favorable in terms of size.
The hotel supply of the city of Milan amounted to 69 % of the entire province, offering 446
hotels with 25,749 rooms (Poinelli & Buffa, 2014). The number of hotels and rooms in Milan
appeared to stay constant with some slight developments in terms of new hotels, renovations,
old hotels shutting down and upgrades to 5 and 4 star categories as they were highly
demanded in comparison to the subordinate categories (Poinelli & Buffa, 2014).
Developments revolved on the upcoming Expo and surpassing the economic crisis. Hence,
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the projects aimed at expanding the hotel industry to an additional of 1700-1,800 (2700
inaccurate estimate) rooms and which consisted of the following 4-5 star hotels:
Moxy Hotel Ibis Linate
by Marriott
Malpensa
Mandarin
Oriental
Me by
Melia Duca
Di Milano
W
Hilton
Excelsior
Garden Inn Hotel Gallia
(Poinelli & Buffa, 2014)
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The Italian Association of Hotel Chains: AIC and STR formulated the table above which
assesses a sample of 40 hotels in the province of Milan. The outcome in 2014 was positive
compared to 2009, signifying the industry surpassing the economic crisis and managing to
reach a 24.9%.
(Poinelli & Buffa, 2014)
Assumptions were developed with accordance to Expo 2015 and the previous positive
performance in 2013 and the data was calculated on the basis of six international countries
that have an immense impact on the number of visitors in Milan resulting with a 2.5 %
growth rate by 2019 (Poinelli & Buffa, 2014). The growth rate during the period of 2015 to
2016 was determined by gathered statistics from operators and hotel chains prior to and after
the expo. As shown, 7,249,000 arrivals in 2019 is expected and therefore 1.45 million
overnight stays with a double occupancy of 1.8 will yield around 3,150 rooms in which
around 16 new hotels offering 200 rooms will operate on the basis of an annual occupancy
percentage of 70 (Poinelli & Buffa, 2014).
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(Poinelli & Buffa, 2014)
Figure 9 further projects the demand growth rate in Milan City and province during the
period of 2010-2019. Hotel brands were questioned about the impact that Expo 2015 will
have on the market and conclusions were drawn that recommended the following
 25-30% demand growth
 Hotel occupancy increase
According to Mancini, Expo Milan 2015 attracted one million additional inbound tourists to
the city than the previous year. The beneficial imprints it had left seem to go beyond the Expo.
However, Franco D’Alfonso councilor of tourism and trade deduced after analyzing data on
the Expo, stating “positive but not triumphalist” (Mancini, 2015). D’Alfonso further expresses
his conclusion by pointing out that the Expo was more of a support and enabled a quicker
increase in tourist arrivals compared the previous years (Mancini, 2015). Furthermore, the
councilor states that it is anticipated that growth will be continuous as it reaches 8 million at
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year end compared to 7.1 million in the year before (Mancini, 2015). Therefore, it is essential
to accentuate that Milan is more than just a business destination, one that is recognized and
visited by all tourists since it was given the opportunity to transform during Expo 2015
(Mancini, 2015).
(Istat, 2016)
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The Impact on the Economy
The evaluation was conducted by Bocconi, aiming at extracting the main impacts the expo
which contributed to 29 billion of added value in terms of production. The five intial factors
included the following: : (Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, 2015).
1. Infrastructure- 74%
2. Event Management- 3.8 %
3. Participation- 1.9%
4. Tourism Attractiveness- 16.59 %
5. Attractiveness of foreign direct investment- 3.3%
 Press release
 Green Infrastructure investments, sustainability measures of site
30
 Cnbc : Costs of making Expo
 UAE to follow the success of Milan
 Mancini data on expo figures
The following figures are an estimate of the Impact of Expo Milan:
International visitors: 55 percent
United States: 13 percent
France: 9.7 percent
China: 7.5 percent
Hotel bookings: 2,000 hotels extra
Room rate August 2015: 39.3 % increase
Room rate October 2015: 24% increase
Rooms occupied in August one night: 49% increase than year before
May- October: 4.8 million tourists arrival compared to 27% in 2014
May- October 2015, municipal museums: 50% increase , one million to more than one and
a half million visitors.
Expo Milan sheet:
More than 14 million visitors attended 2,200 performances in six months
Italian Pavillion: 41 institutional partners participation
Overall costs incurred and paid to BIE:
Registration: 604,000 euros
Readying and presentation: 224,000
(Mancini, 2015)
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If we compare the above results to the estimated assumptions on the expected results, it is
clear that the assumptions were more optimistic. The following statistics are derived from the
official Expo Milan website in which the finances were presented as part of their
transparency in terms of the entire Expo outcome.
12-14 million italians
6-8 million foreigners
Income statement:
Total production value:
2014: 130,498,075
2015: 1,796,887,307
2016 : 2,232,793
Total production costs:
2014: 149,030,775
2015: 1,820,113,561
2016: 9.898.625
Value – cost:
2014: -18,532,700
2015: -23,226,254
2016: -7,665,832
Total investment, adjuments activities: 2015: -605,000
Total extraordinary expenses (E)
2014: -26, 719,046
2015: 23.592
2016: 3
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before tax (A-B + C + D + E);
2014: 45, 261, 580
2015: -23,807,026
2016: -7.665,880
23) Profit (loss) for the year
2016: -7,665,880
2015: -23,807,026
2014: -45,261, 580
33
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