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DUBAI IN FOCUS


Within Reach


Just seven hours from the UK, Dubai’s beaches, world-class hotels, desert safaris and shopping in modern malls and timeless souks provide the perfect winter short escape, says Colin Ellson


A


ccording to some observers Dubai’s heyday of headlong unchecked expansion has hit


the buffers. However listen to others and a picture emerges of a destination that has picked itself up and dusted itself off after suffering more than most from the worldwide recession. The developer of the prestigious,


mixed-use Dubai Pearl development, where construction was halted but has started again, puts the situation into perspective.


“I believe that by 2012, the troubles of 2009 will be forgotten,” he says. “Dubai is a young city and like a young person it must suffer growing pains.” Meanwhile, UK tour operators seem to be wondering what all the fuss is about. Most reported an increase in sales for 2010, with the emirate’s popularity as a short-stay destination growing on the back of Dubai’s world- class hotels, exclusive shopping malls, numerous golf courses, desert safaris and spectator sports. Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) is nothing if not upbeat. Ian Scott, director UK and Ireland,


said: “All in all, we feel Dubai is emerging in a positive light from the challenging global crisis and remains an increasingly attractive destination.” With over 200 UK tour operators


featuring Dubai, and others planning to add the emirate to their programmes for 2011, clients are spoilt for choice.


The options range from all-action


city breaks – just a seven-hour fl ight from the gloom of an English winter – to longer stays, with the common denominator exclusive accommodation scattered generously in city centre, along Jumeirah Beach and out amid the dunes of the desert.


Inclusive breaks apart, dynamic packaging Dubai is a viable option, with a little astute time spent on the internet exploring airline and hotel offers throwing up interesting possibilities and mouth-watering savings. With the DTCM’s new marketing


branding heralding a fresh chapter in the emirate’s tourism development, advise


clients that their break in the Gulf has to be “Defi nitely Dubai”.


Dubai What’s New With the addition of an extra


daily fl ight from London Heathrow for the winter period, British Airways is now fl ying to Dubai three times a day, until the end of March. Recent hotel openings


in the emirate include the 481-room Pullman Dubai Mall of the Emirates; the One&Only The Palm, with 90 rooms and four villas, the fi rst boutique beach


38 Spring 2011 • www.shortbreaksholidays.com


ARABIAN ADVENTURES


My Dubai... by Colin Ellson


“The pace might have slowed, but in the 15 or so years since the emirate began its visionary development, a truly remarkable amount has been achieved. Today, it is the leisure centre par excellence of the region, catering to every type of holidaymaker, its hotels among the best in the world, its man- made attractions defying the imagination. And then there’s the magical desert, whose timeless beauty contrasts with a city of restless energy.”


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