Dubai Expo 2020 recorded nearly 1.5 million visits since its opening on October 1, organisers said, on Monday.
A total of 1,471,314 visits were recorded in the first 24 days since the Expo opened,” said Sconaid McGeachin, the senior vice president of communications Expo 2020 Dubai.
Children made up a quarter of the total visits, thanks to the wide range of activities organised for the younger visitors, explained McGeachin.
Improving weather conditions in the country, long weekend, and events organised during this time are considered the main reasons for the spike in attendance rates, explained Mohamed Eisa Al Ansaari, vice president of strategic communications.
Number of attendance at the Expo will be announced every Monday.
Today, October 25, marks 25 days since the Expo opened on October 1.
“Virtual visitors at the Expo stand at 10.8 million since October 1 up from 9.3 million last week,” said McGeachin.
She explained, “Last week, we had a fantastic lineup of events for the space week programmes. Many people are coming back more than once, and children made up a quarter of the total number of visits. We’ve had a range of kid-friendly activities such as the cricket coaching session with players of the Rajasthan Royals.”
While organisers did not announce a pavilion-wise breakdown of attendees, McGeachin said, “I know Saudi has announced about 33,000 visits in a single day, and the UK pavilion has had over 100,000 visits. We will leave each pavilion to announce their visitor numbers.”
Ansaari said, “Events are crucial, and the holidays played a vital role in increasing the number of visits. We had a long weekend as well and the thematic week played a vital role in the increase in the number of visits. We also have an enormous number of events that led to the increase in attendance numbers.”
He added, “We are happy about the numbers. Also, we are experiencing enjoyable weather, which played a key role in the hike in numbers.”
Officials expect the number of visits to increase during the tourist season from November to April.
“We are expecting more international tourists to come in as travel corridors re-open,” said McGeachin.
Figures include all physical ticket holders but exclude representatives, delegations, guests from international participants and Expo staff.
Here is what to look forward to at the Expo on Monday, October 25:
Maldives National Day
Flag ceremony, 10.15am, Al Wasl Plaza
Outlier Series | Girls and Coding
Panel discussion on ways to bridge the gender gap in technology and increase the number of girls and women in coding whilst celebrating the success stories out of Nigeria, 2 pm to 4 pm, Women’s Pavilion
Flemish Xperience
Combination of contemporary dance, high-tech projections and a unique blend of Arabic and Flemish music, 8 pm, Dubai Millennium Amphitheatre
Kazakhstan Tourism Week
Includes B2B meetings, fashion show and musical performance of Sazgen Sazy, 9 am, Kazakhstan Pavilion.
4th Aqdar World Summit
Day 2 of the unique event bringing together leading academics, researchers, scholars, educators, leaders, industry experts and global companies to share and discuss crucial issues of international importance, 7 am to 12 am, Dubai Exhibition Centre, Hall 1 A South.