Dubai – 16 November, 2020: Cityscape’s Real Estate Summit opened its doors on Monday, with His Excellency Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority, inaugurating the one-off edition of the annual event, organised by Informa Markets and held in partnership with the Dubai Land Department at Dubai World Trade Centre.

 

HE Al Tayer was joined in the special opening ceremony and tour by His Excellency Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General of Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Peter Hall, President EMEA, Informa Markets, and Chris Speller, Group Director, Cityscape, Informa Markets. 

Following a virtual inauguration speech given by His Excellency Sultan Butti bin Mejren, Director General of the Dubai Land Department, the tour visited the stands of Sobha Developers, One St. John’s Wood and Land Sterling before finishing at Dubai Land Department for the announcement of its new application REST.

 

HE Bin Mejren said: “This year's edition of Cityscape represents the culmination of efforts set by Dubai’s leadership, as well as the success of the economic incentives which have benefited all business sectors in the emirate, including real estate – one of the most important tributaries to the national economy.

“The event will provide a strong support to the sector and all stakeholders, by addressing the most important real estate topics, and shedding light on the most prominent challenges and opportunities in the region. The dialogue will contribute to shaping the future of real estate and will lead to the development of solutions that will contribute to enhancing the growth of the real estate market in Dubai.”

 

During its participation in the summit, DLD launched the Real Estate Developer Guidebook, and provided detailed explanation on its Dubai REST application, the first digital real estate platform in Dubai that encompasses all transactions and allows investors and owners to make investment decisions through a complete set of digital transactions without the need for paper documents, reducing procedures. It aims to strengthen the Emirate’s position as a global real estate investment destination.

 

At the opening ceremony, HE Mattar Al Tayer said: “The real estate sector is vital for the growth of the national economy and it actively contributes to the prosperity of Dubai; it is fundamental to the urban expansion and development of the city.

““The Government of Dubai strives to provide the necessary support for this sector in a way that effectively contributes to its enhanced performance and continuing success.

 

“The Cityscape Real Estate Summit is the largest knowledge sharing platform for real estate in the region and it provides opportunity for the international real estate community namely developers, investors, and financial institutions, as well as industry experts and professionals to gather under one roof.”

HE Al Marri, Director General of DTCM, then put the spotlight on real estate and the tourism sector in a session titled ‘What’s Next for Dubai’s Tourism Sector’, as he took the audience through Dubai’s strategy in adapting its tourism strategies for a post-pandemic world.

 

He said: “We have seen a very large interest in the new visa programs – with tens of thousands registering interest – and this is due in part to the attractive environment of living in Dubai. And now with the two-month travel visa, we’ve seen an influx of interest with a tremendous demand from the United Kingdom and the United States. This will have a positive impact not only for the tourism sector but also for real estate.”

 

This year’s special edition of Cityscape was co-created with regional real estate industry stakeholders as a direct response to market demand for a business-to-business meeting place and knowledge sharing destination following the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

This year’s event features a series of speeches, presentations, tactical talks and market analysis with focus on all asset classes - from residential to commercial, industrial, retail and hospitality, to help the industry get back to business following the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Cityscape’s Real Estate Summit was made possible with support from Government Partners: Government of Dubai and Dubai Land Department; Knowledge Sponsors: JLL, Knight Frank and Land Sterling; Summit Sponsors: Sobha Realty, Azizi Developments, Farrbury Capital Partners, Elitzam Group and Damac Properties; Architecture Partner: Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA); and Start-up Partner: Clear It.