# Will Dubai Expo 2020 lead to an increase in the number of jobs?



## desiboy89 (Nov 18, 2013)

Serious question. I don't really understand the whole Expo thing and what it will mean. 

If Dubai were to win it, would it lead to an increase in the number of jobs? I am a struggling intern at a consultancy firm and am looking for a way out into marketing research/PR/corporate communications. Would the expo lead to an increase in jobs in all sectors or only some select sectors like hospitality?


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

It will give an increase in construction/lobour jobs, mostly to people from the sub-continent, who will all be brought over to build the Expo Village/City thingy - then all be sent back home afterwards.


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## desiboy89 (Nov 18, 2013)

Chocoholic said:


> It will give an increase in construction/lobour jobs, mostly to people from the sub-continent, who will all be brought over to build the Expo Village/City thingy - then all be sent back home afterwards.


Ah, that's what I thought as well. No big deal then, life will carry on as usual for the rest of us.


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

huckingfell said:


> Ah, that's what I thought as well. No big deal then, life will carry on as usual for the rest of us.


Not really. The media and the real estate industry will try to make you believe that all this means rents MUST go up so we actually may be worse off in years to come, or perhaps even months since real estate agents are already doing their best effort to feed the speculation. We shall see.


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## desiboy89 (Nov 18, 2013)

dizzyizzy said:


> Not really. The media and the real estate industry will try to make you believe that all this means rents MUST go up so we actually may be worse off in years to come, or perhaps even months since real estate agents are already doing their best effort to feed the speculation. We shall see.


Oh dear. I was positive about Dubai getting the expo till today, hope they don't now!


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

dizzyizzy said:


> Not really. The media and the real estate industry will try to make you believe that all this means rents MUST go up so we actually may be worse off in years to come, or perhaps even months since real estate agents are already doing their best effort to feed the speculation. We shall see.


Yep, and the sad thing is that too many people are stupid enough to swallow it. 

Demand for housing in 2014 is going to go through the roof because of a 6 month long event that will take place almost 7 years later designed to attract tourists who will stay for a week or 2 in a hotel.

Makes perfect sense doesn't it?


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

I've seen so many people expecting an instant pay rise if Dubai gets the Expo - er no, that's not going to happen.


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

Chocoholic said:


> I've seen so many people expecting an instant pay rise if Dubai gets the Expo - er no, that's not going to happen.


I have already spoken to people who assure me the "authorities will tell companies to give more salary"

That explains the multitude of seemingly middle class people on Gulf News and Facebook fervently praying for a win.


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## Fat Bhoy Tim (Feb 28, 2013)

Tropicana said:


> I have already spoken to people who assure me the "authorities will tell companies to give more salary"
> 
> That explains the multitude of seemingly middle class people on Gulf News and Facebook fervently praying for a win.


A bit racist, but I'm sure i know what part of the world 90% of them come from.

Incredibly naive, is the only way I can think to describe it.


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

Tropicana said:


> I have already spoken to people who assure me the *"authorities will tell companies to give more salary"*
> 
> That explains the multitude of seemingly middle class people on Gulf News and Facebook fervently praying for a win.


LMAO 

This is absolutely hilarious. 

I agree, the expectations some people have around this expo are unbelievable. Some people are so naive


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Not to mention that many if not most visitors will be domestic tourists who already live here.

The expo attendance numbers are always greatly inflated by local residents' multiple visits over the six months. 



Gavtek said:


> Yep, and the sad thing is that too many people are stupid enough to swallow it.
> 
> Demand for housing in 2014 is going to go through the roof because of a 6 month long event that will take place almost 7 years later designed to attract tourists who will stay for a week or 2 in a hotel.
> 
> Makes perfect sense doesn't it?


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## desiboy89 (Nov 18, 2013)

SO why is there so much hype about this bloody thing then? Wouldn't it be better if Dubai didn't get it?


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## jk_1337 (Oct 25, 2012)

if you only look at it from the perspective of rents increasing then yes, it'd be better if Dubai didn't win but there'a lot of good that comes of something like this.

I know in Brisbane, where I'm from, the World Expo was held there in 1988 and it really put our city on the map (not that Dubai needs it but you get what I mean). It gave us a lot of wonderful areas for tourists and residents alike (the entire South Bank and South Brisbane area for example), infrastructure improved dramatically and it also forces councils and government to get their act together since the world's eyes will be on the city. 

There'll be plenty to gain with this win but of course, some pain will come with it - in what form and to what degree remains to be seen but I'm trying to be optimistic about this and believe there's more good in all of this. Happy to learn about more realistic perspectives though - I certainly don't have all the answers!


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

Dubai in 2013, thanks to the Burj Khalifah, Emirates Airlines, and its focus on tourism has a significantly larger profile than Brisbane in 1988. I would argue that Dubai is as well known as Shanghai was in 2010
I was going through some categorization of cities, and while NYC and London are ranked at the top, the next tier contains cities like Paris, Singapore, and Dubai.
Only something like the Olympics would have made its existing image stronger.

Personally I am excited at the fact that there will be a lot of new projects, what I am apprehensive about, apart from rents is whether there will be any significant increases in fees/fines/charges, but as you said I am trying to be optimistic about it


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

huckingfell said:


> SO why is there so much hype about this bloody thing then? Wouldn't it be better if Dubai didn't get it?


Besides the rents thing, I don't think is a bad thing as such. Just not as great as people make it out to be. As is been pointed out, many people seem to think this expo will personally benefit them. I don't know how or why but they seem to believe that, hence their excitement. I have some of such individuals here in my office and just the other day they were going on and on about how great it will be if Dubai wins the expo bid, and I just had to ask them the question, like, how do they think this thing will directly benefit them? Some of them as Tropicana said, believe that somehow magically salaries will go up (lolz). Others think that businesses will sell more (like our company for example) so that should have a positive effect, right? Others just seem to think that some magical wave of prosperity will come along with the expo. That is more or less their "reasoning" (note quote marks). But I still do not understand exactly what are they expecting, besides some impressive fireworks and festivities and maybe some new recreational areas and parks, which would be great by the way.

Take for example the Maktoum Airport / DWC. Massive project, construction well underway, approximate investment estimated at $32 billion. Great, great project and I say this without a hint of irony. Once that is completed it will be the largest airport in the world and DWC will truly be a one of its kind facility in the whole world. Has this made a difference in our lives (regular Dubai folk I mean)? No. Will it, at some point? Well yes, it will somewhat impact the way people travel, but I don't see it having the prosperity domino effect that a lot of people seem to be expecting from the 2020 Expo. I truly, truly hope I will be proven wrong though. I don't mean to sound all negative, is just that I really don't understand what is all the hype and excitement about. Maybe people think is like the Olympics or the World Cup?


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Dubai presentation is live on Dubai one right now and is being streamed live on the internet at Overview | Expo 2020 Dubai, UAE


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

Stevesolar said:


> Dubai presentation is live on Dubai one right now and is being streamed live on the internet at Overview | Expo 2020 Dubai, UAE


Its playing Larry King interviewing a teenager :confused2:


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## desiboy89 (Nov 18, 2013)

Yup it just got over. Was amazing.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

dizzyizzy said:


> Its playing Larry King interviewing a teenager :confused2:


Sorry - you were not quick enough!!


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

huckingfell said:


> Yup it just got over. Was amazing.


Agreed - awesome presentation - just hope we get to see the others!


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## jk_1337 (Oct 25, 2012)

Would love a public holiday tomorrow once they win the bid


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## desiboy89 (Nov 18, 2013)

Stevesolar said:


> Agreed - awesome presentation - just hope we get to see the others!


I agree. Would be a shame if we didn't, though by the looks of it, we won't


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

huckingfell said:


> I agree. Would be a shame if we didn't, though by the looks of it, we won't


??




Btw, where can we catch the live stream, the Expo2020 site does not seem to show it


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

You summarized it pretty well.

The site for the expo is supposed to be over by the new airport so it's also not something that we'll get to see under construction (unlike the Burj Khalifa, which was awesome to see climb higher on a day to day basis). Afterwards it's supposed to be converted into a university campus, so once again not much benefit to the average resident. I believe the Brisbane expo resulted in a bunch of parks and promenade that benefited the city well after the expo was over.

While I am generally happy for any economic stimulus and the expo will bring some, if not necessarily as much as many expect, it's the rents that worries me more than anything else.

It's an understatement to say that Dubai has a weird property market that's not governed by normal laws of supply of demand. During the peak of the previous boom when people were paying 100K for a very ordinary one bedroom apartment in Al Barsha there was a huge supply of available units deliberately left off the market to keep prices as high as possible. Entire towers of JBR were empty. People paid the rent because a psychological mania had taken hold of the city and people kept saying that the boom would never end and that rents would never come down.

I'm afraid that winning the expo would encourage another unjustifiable mania and bubble in the property sector and fuel yet another huge increase in rents on top of what we've already seen. *That* is not good for both the average resident and the long term prosperity of Dubai. Dubai is still paying off debt from the previous boom and is scheduled to pay back close to $50 billion USD over the next four years (or restructure it, people are still not entirely sure where the money is going to come from). If we have another spectacular property market collapse in 2-3 years' time Dubai could find itself trapped by being stuck paying back debt from the previous boom, stuck with the current promised levels of expo expenditures and faced with sharp declines in revenues following another enormous decline in property prices. 

Someone in my office this morning commented that Dubai may not be mature enough to handle an expo and I can see where he was coming from. 



dizzyizzy said:


> Besides the rents thing, I don't think is a bad thing as such. Just not as great as people make it out to be. As is been pointed out, many people seem to think this expo will personally benefit them. I don't know how or why but they seem to believe that, hence their excitement. I have some of such individuals here in my office and just the other day they were going on and on about how great it will be if Dubai wins the expo bid, and I just had to ask them the question, like, how do they think this thing will directly benefit them? Some of them as Tropicana said, believe that somehow magically salaries will go up (lolz). Others think that businesses will sell more (like our company for example) so that should have a positive effect, right? Others just seem to think that some magical wave of prosperity will come along with the expo. That is more or less their "reasoning" (note quote marks). But I still do not understand exactly what are they expecting, besides some impressive fireworks and festivities and maybe some new recreational areas and parks, which would be great by the way.
> 
> Take for example the Maktoum Airport / DWC. Massive project, construction well underway, approximate investment estimated at $32 billion. Great, great project and I say this without a hint of irony. Once that is completed it will be the largest airport in the world and DWC will truly be a one of its kind facility in the whole world. Has this made a difference in our lives (regular Dubai folk I mean)? No. Will it, at some point? Well yes, it will somewhat impact the way people travel, but I don't see it having the prosperity domino effect that a lot of people seem to be expecting from the 2020 Expo. I truly, truly hope I will be proven wrong though. I don't mean to sound all negative, is just that I really don't understand what is all the hype and excitement about. Maybe people think is like the Olympics or the World Cup?


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## geekgirl_5 (Sep 19, 2013)

dizzyizzy said:


> LMAO
> 
> This is absolutely hilarious.
> 
> I agree, the expectations some people have around this expo are unbelievable. Some people are so naive


Oh those nice authorities. Shame.

I'm super skeptical about these kind of things. There was so much hype about the soccer world cup. People rented out their houses, other people got evicted because the landlords suddenly wanted to turn in into a Bed and Breakfast...and nothing.

Most of the stadiums are complete white elephants, FIFA got most of the money and SA got what? A couple more illegitimate children.


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## desiboy89 (Nov 18, 2013)

geekgirl_5 said:


> Oh those nice authorities. Shame.
> 
> I'm super skeptical about these kind of things. There was so much hype about the soccer world cup. People rented out their houses, other people got evicted because the landlords suddenly wanted to turn in into a Bed and Breakfast...and nothing.
> 
> Most of the stadiums are complete white elephants, FIFA got most of the money and SA got what? A couple more illegitimate children.


Are you Afrikaans?


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## Byja (Mar 3, 2013)

Stevesolar said:


> Agreed - awesome presentation - just hope we get to see the others!


Here's the abstract of Ekaterinburg presentation for EXPO2020 candidacy:










Is it snowing in Paris now?!


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## geekgirl_5 (Sep 19, 2013)

huckingfell said:


> Are you Afrikaans?


Was it the use of "Shame" or did I spell sceptical (?) wrong? Technically. I'm english first langauge, but worked in a very afrikaans environment


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

huckingfell said:


> I agree. Would be a shame if we didn't, though by the looks of it, we won't


Out of interest, why dont you think Dubai will win the bid?


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## desiboy89 (Nov 18, 2013)

Stevesolar said:


> Out of interest, why dont you think Dubai will win the bid?


I meant, we(viewers) won't get to see the rest of the presentations


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## ash_ak (Jan 22, 2011)

I dont know about you guys, but I am looking forward to a free scoop of baskin robbins ice cream if dubai gets the expo 

On November 28, should the Dubai bid for hosting Expo 2020 be successful, guests who visit Baskin-Robbins parlours in the UAE, between 1 and 3pm, will receive a voucher for one free-of-charge, delicious ‘junior’ scoop. This delicious ice cream will be handed out by the Baskin-Robbins staff on a first-come, first-served basis while the supplies and flavour selection last. Customers can redeem their vouchers at any time on November 28 between 1pm and 5pm.Up to 100,000 junior scoops will be given out free of charge.


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

If Dubai wins, that will be the most expensive (in the long run) scoop of ice cream you will ever have. Hope is worth it!


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## waldo13x (Nov 19, 2013)

Dubai won the first round with 77 votes and Sao Paolo is eliminated in first round. So far positive note for Dubai.


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

Dubai has won it... almost, there is no way Dubai will lose now


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

I heard a great story today. Someone moving on 2nd December received a quote from one of the MAJOR companies here and she called to discuss it because, technically, that day is not a holiday for private sector. The company's comeback was you're lucky to have the quote now because if Dubai gets 2020, we're putting our rates up by 15%!!!


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## waldo13x (Nov 19, 2013)

Congratulations, Dubai has won Expo 2020


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

Fireworks were pretty cool. Guess the back-up plan was to save them for NY if they weren't successful


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Yes. Just saw them from my office. Lucky I had to work late tonight.

Well. 

We're in for an interesting ride. 

Let's see what happens....



BedouGirl said:


> Fireworks were pretty cool. Guess the back-up plan was to save them for NY if they weren't successful


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

TallyHo said:


> Yes. Just saw them from my office. Lucky I had to work late tonight. Well. We're in for an interesting ride. Let's see what happens....


Traffic was diabolical this evening in the area. Took me an age to get home. And I didn't realize why doh!!


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## Jumeirah Jim (Jan 24, 2011)

well done DXB!

can we how have a week off to celebrate fully?


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## vantage (May 10, 2012)

Well, the Beach Road has gone ape****!
Wheelspins, flags, horns, doughnuts, fireworks.

It's a whisker away from gunfire down here!


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

vantage said:


> Well, the Beach Road has gone ape****! Wheelspins, flags, horns, doughnuts, fireworks. It's a whisker away from gunfire down here!


I hear them!!!


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

I also hear schools have the day off tomorrow.


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## vantage (May 10, 2012)

BedouGirl said:


> I also hear schools have the day off tomorrow.


Haven't heard that. Where did you hear that?


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

vantage said:


> Haven't heard that. Where did you hear that?


 A friend of mine just posted on FB. I asked her if she was sure and she said yes, schools are closed till Tuesday. Her son goes to a British curriculum school. Perhaps she got it wrong, best to check.


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## vantage (May 10, 2012)

BedouGirl said:


> A friend of mine just posted on FB. I asked her if she was sure and she said yes, schools are closed till Tuesday. Her son goes to a British curriculum school. Perhaps she got it wrong, best to check.


Found it on most of the news websites. Must be true.
How they're sleeping through this, I'm not sure!


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

vantage said:


> Found it on most of the news websites. Must be true. How they're sleeping through this, I'm not sure!


I've got the telly up loud


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## fred081 (Nov 29, 2013)

get ready for a surge of prices in real estate... rents are already going up like crazy...


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

fred081 said:


> get ready for a surge of prices in real estate... rents being demanded are already going up like crazy...


corrected it for you


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