Expo visitor numbers expected to hit one million
Visitor numbers at Expo 2020 Dubai are expected to soon pass one million, organisers said.
Before the long weekend, ticketed visits were well on course to reach the milestone figure – with 771,477 recorded between October 1 and October 17.
With a bumper weekend reported at the site, starting from the public holiday on Thursday, those numbers are expected to have grown considerably since then.
“Looking at the numbers, hopefully we will be able to reach this number very soon,” Mohamed Al Ansaari, vice president of strategic communications, said yesterday.
“We are very happy with the level of participation and visitors at different pavilions and events.”
There were queues at the site on Thursday and Friday, with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, US, Italy, India and Switzerland pavilions proving to be the most popular.
The number of visitors to the Expo had increased by 12 per cent in a week, when the last set of data was made available.
Figures include all ticket holders but exclude representatives, delegations, guests from international participants and Expo staff.
“The level of engagement here is not just about the numbers, but also the meaningful discussions happening,” Mr Al Ansaari said.
“We are truly happy with the numbers so far, and will reveal on Monday exactly what they are.”
Visitors can avoid long queues at popular pavilions by using the Smart Queue system to book a slot.
In the first 10 days Expo 2020 Dubai attracted more than 400,000 visitors, with about 300,000 dropping in the week after that.
The Expo is proving to have more than a day’s worth of exploration on offer as more than 30,000 people have visited
the site three times already, and more than 100,000 have been there twice.
The world’s fair, which covers more than four square kilometres at its Dubai South site, has welcomed over 175 nationalities since opening on October 1.