HOTELIER: Obviously there’s a lot of supply coming on to the market in the run-up to Expo 2020 — what are your thoughts on what will happen post-event?

STEFAN: The build up to Expo 2020 is very well thought out. What will also bring a lot of business is the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

KAI: Expo 2020 is a major milestone, but it’s obviously not the end. The way Dubai has marketed it really speaks for itself. It’s just another stepping stone in the long-term development of the UAE.

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ABDELLAH: There’s enough demand generators that will be on the market to sustain that business, build that momentum and continue on it.

ANDREW: There’s a lot of, anecdotally, supply coming on that’s aimed at [people coming here for the Expo]. If the supply does come on to satisfy that short-term demand, it will be a cliff on the other side in terms of rates and occupancies across the city unless a plan is in place.

MARIA: The Shanghai expo was quite a good one, and with regards to 2010 the demand increase for hotel rooms was 13% over the Expo year.

ABDELLAH: The UAE has always worked miracles, and there’s one thing they excel at: destination marketing. They make so much hype about an event that the whole world knows about it.

ANDREW: The Expo will certainly add a lot of demand for the city, and we’re in very long-term businesses.

ABDELLAH: And it’s happening as we speak. All these demand generators are being built: theme parks, the museums and the water canal in Dubai. There are so many things in the works, that when we get these 27 million tourists, they are going to be repeat visitors. For our hotels, we have the highest repeat ratio that I’ve ever seen in my industry life. In some hotels it’s up to 35% return ratio. Why do people keep coming back? Because it’s a great experience.

MARKUS: I fully agree. There was probably a similar discussion 15 years back, and we’re doing well now.