TOURISM OF
DUBAI Written by Kata Fodor 16.12.12.
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Introduction Dubai is a city in the United Arab Emirates. It is one of the seven emirates which is located south east of the Persian Gulf. In 1996 the fortunate turnover came in the history of Dubai. Oil was found and changed the direction of the country in all aspects. The present His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum along with his brothers, is dedicated to “achieve his father’s dream which is making Dubai one of the foremost cities in the world.” They managed to create one of the world’s most impressive cities. They have done this by encouraging businesses to invest in and operate from Dubai offering incentives and establishing free trade zones, and by making Dubai one of the world’s premier and most exclusive tourist destinations. We must note that without the ‘black gold’ it would have been a bit harder. My intention here is to show a study that offers a way to understand and gain more knowledge about the developing tourism of Dubai. Dubai’s economy is no longer reliant on oil, but is more diversified, relying heavily on trade and tourism, services and finance sectors. Logically, putting power into services and finance sector follows a necessary development in tourism. Dubai has become an exclusive and prior tourist destination in the Middle East thanks to its developed transport system, logistics and accommodation opportunities. Below I am intending to list transportation, accomodation and cultural information besides the targeted consumer visitor.
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Transport sector According to the visitor survey conducted in 2006. ,before the financial crisis, 95% of visitors arrived through Dubai International Airport, up to 8% in 2002 due to the volume of new arrivers, new destinations and airport expansion plans. „Dubai International was the most rapidly growing airport for international passengers in 2009 and continues to be one of the busiest airports in the world in terms of international passenger and cargo traffic. Dubai International is connected to over 220 destinations across six continents through some 130 scheduled airlines.” 1 Three terminals, including the award-winning Emirates Terminal 3 are facilitate the needs of visitors. „Terminal 3 boosted Dubai International’s operational capacity to 60 million passengers per year, a figure that will increase to 75 million on completion of the world’s first A380-dedicated airside facility connected to it in 2012.” 2 The visitor study 2006. also shows that the avarage group size of visitors was two to three people (2.7 to be exact). (Further visitor information will be dedicated to an other section.) Airport arrivals in Chart 1. also indicate the growing role of Dubai in world tourism. According to 2010. statistics airport arrivals „The number has risen more than threefold. ” Chart 1: Passenger Movements at Dubai International Airport
Source: Dubai Statistical Centre
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http://www.dubaiairports.ae/en/about-da/dubaiinternational/Pages/home.aspxn 2 http://www.dubaiairport.com/en/Pages/home.aspx
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The metro rail network must be mentioned too. It is also a highly demanded and favourite transport medium which is driverless and fully automated. Besides the metro and airlines, there is bus service and also taxi that is popular.
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Accomodation “Dubai Hotel sector has extraordinarily developed: at the end of 2000 there were five times more hotels than the number operating in 1990. Middle East investment in the hotel sector exceeded US$7 billion in 2007, with UAE investors accounting for more than 76%.” 3 In 2008 the total number of operating hotels in Dubai was 351, while in 2007 it was 319. Chart 2. Number of Hotels by class
Source: Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing
Though hotel occupancy has raised, the average guest nights have not increased significantly (2.5 nights in 1999 to 2.7 nights in 2007). Not surprisingly the financial crisis has cut back sharply the revenue of the sector. According to the below indicated Chart 3. the revenue in 2008. was +15 %. Comparing it with the percantage in 2009. there was a – 23 % downfall. Though in 2011. it climbed back with 38%.
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http://www.mt.usi.ch/study-tour-report-2009---dubai-126912.pdf
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Chapter 3. Hotel Revenues 2002-2011
Accomodation types
Source: Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing If accommodation mentioned we cannot go further without mentioning the iconic Burj Al Arab the masterpiece of contemporary architecture in Dubai. The individually and exceptionally built 7-stars hotel. The real, all-suit luxury where visitors “can be assured of the ultimate in personal service throughout their stay.�4
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http://www.jumeirah.com/en/Hotels-and-Resorts/Destinations/Dubai/Burj-Al-Arab/
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Culture and attractions As Dubai is expected to maintain its position in the tourist industry, it is a must to put more and more emphasis on culture and heritage besides attractions. I would like to quote the next two sentences from the official site of Dubai Government in order to precisely define the concept of the government. “For centuries, art found its patrons in royalty and nations’ leaders, who all understood that beyond basic needs, creativity and the desire for selfexpression bring people together, regionally and internationally. Dubai Culture is committed to promoting inter-cultural understanding and exchange while building on its rich Arabian identity and preserving its national heritage.”5 The city raised from a small fishing and trading village into the home of a multicultural population of 200 nationalities. I believe this pre-reflects the cultural richness of Dubai. This culture is very different from for example the European. It is no surprise that most of the visitors seeking for leasure-time in Dubai arrive from Europe. It would take a while to list all the opportunities that Dubai offers, so I just mention a couple of very important ones. The official religion is Islam but the government is respectful and follows a policy of tolerance towards the non-Muslim culture. The most important Islamic religious observance is The Holy Month of Ramadan, which ends with Eid Al Fitr, a celebration festival of solidarity. The Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) is the Emirate’s Authority for culture, arts, and heritage, has launched the call for the ‘Dubai Outdoor Art Project.’ Dubai is loaded also with festivals. Emirates Airlines Festival of Literature, Dubai International Film Festival, Art Dubai, Shopping Festival, Design Days Dubai. What is also worth mentioning is the Dubai Museum, which is the main museum there, the Heritage House, the Souk, Bin Lootah Mosque, which is the architectural heritage of Dubai. The artificially created Palm Joumeirah. For further brilliant cultural opportunities please see the following link: http://www.dubaiculture.ae/en/live-our-heritage/live-our-heritage-overview.html
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http://www.dubaiculture.ae/en/arts-and-culture.html
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Targeted consumer visitors
Dubai targets each nationalities in the world. Though according to the 2011. year statistics the most visitors (2,329,078) came from Europe. What Dubai can offer for tourists is so diverse that it is more useful to list the areas that are not covered in the city’s tourism sector. It is often stated that seasonality and climate are major factors influencing tourism worldwide. This region is no exception. Winter sport activities are not facilitated there. Otherwise it fits for the needs of families with kids, business people, young and older couples. Although we must note that the climate may not be comfortable for everyone especially older visitors. Even if they have the budget to freely enjoy their time. Its high class and luxury resorts, hotels indicates that Dubai is built for the elit groups who can also consume its domestic products and goods.
Summary
One important thing about Dubai is the rapid transformation from an oil producer to a wordwide-known metropolitan city. Dubai has shifted the tounge of scale to industries such as commerce, finance and tourism. At present, Dubai is known for its superlative, extreme and iconic buildings and architectures, shopping and luxury resorts and hotels, that makes it a luxury destination in the world. Dubai is determined to continuous sustainable development. See the link for Dubai Strategic Plan 2015. http://www.deg.gov.ae/SiteCollectionImages/Content/pubdocs/Dubai_Strategic_Plan_2015.pdf
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Pictures
SOUK
Palm Jumeirah
Burj Al Arab
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Dubai Museum
Dinner in the Holy Month of Ramadan
Eid Al Fitr celebration
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Bibliography http://www.dubaiairport.com/en/Pages/home.aspx www.dubaicity.com www.dubailand.ae www.dubaitourism.ae. http://www.mt.usi.ch/study-tour-report-2009---dubai-126912.pdf http://dubai.ae/en/pages/default.aspx
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