Delayed Dubai Expo 2020 set to launch tickets on July 18

Expo 2020 Dubai will start selling tickets on July 18, organizers said on Thursday, in a concrete signal that the world fair set to begin in October after a year-long delay will go ahead.

Organizers also said they expect UAE flight restrictions – such as those on arrivals from India – to have lifted by the time Expo 2020 starts.

Dubai, a regional business and tourism hub, is relying on the global fair to give its economy a boost.

Restrictions remain on global travel and on who can fly into of the United Arab Emirates, but organizers say they are hoping for up to 25 million total physical visits between October and March 2022.

The United States this week raised its COVID 19-related travel advisory for the UAE, which has run one of the world’s fastest vaccination campaigns, to “level 4 – do not travel”.

Expo 2020 will sell three tiers of tickets: One-day tickets at $26, month-long tickets at $53 and six-month tickets at $135.

Expo 2020 has said its workers must have had COVID-19 vaccinations but that will not be mandatory for visitors.

As the expected opening nears, a hotel within the Expo grounds, the Rove Expo 2020, has opened for bookings from Oct. 1.