Is it all going the way of Eastern Europe? If it does then
hopefully it will be less bloodily. But the trend appears to be a reaction against oligarchies and the dictatorships and absolute monarchies must be looking over their shoulders with some concern. Matters are complicated by the fragile emergence from the
global recession and become even trickier when oil reserves come into play. Any upset in that balance could lead to inflation as workers seek higher wages and companies mark up their prices as a result. If the recent squeeze on company profits and banking instability then results in deflation and a tightening in monetary policy, then you have the rock and the hard place. There is a bewildering collection of colliding influences
involved in all of this and at the bottom of it all – way down the priority list – there is the vital (to us) area of the region’s family entertainment centres. A somewhat limited tour of the region to pick up on the
trends comes up with some expected conclusions. New projects are far fewer in number; those that are under way are of a less spectacular nature; many more are on the back burner pending the full emergence of the industry from the recession; but there is no lack of drive on the industry’s part to see the business move forward.
Mirdif in Dubai, Tamdeen in Kuwait, Ferrari in Abu
Dhabi – nothing on the scale of those recent openings is approaching. But there is a raft of smaller developments and projects by some of the bigger operators, who are now becoming much more canny with their funds…when the banks release them. Dubai remains the heart of the matter, whatever its
recent financial history. It is where the tourists go, quite simply, and although the other destinations in the region, notably Qatar and Abu Dhabi, are putting some energy into promoting themselves as destinations in their own right, Dubai remains the magnet. The first observation is that the forest of cranes, perched
on top of the skyscrapers under construction, are largely gone. Some remain, of course, but nothing on the scale of 12 months ago. “The Sheikh told the builders ‘finish it or I will pull it down’,” remarked one local. Good for him. The Metro is now open, at least one line is from the airport to Jebel Ali and unless you get on at one end or the other you won’t get a seat. “Paid for itself in the first year,” said my industry observer, which may be a little over-enthusiastic as it cost AED28bn. (US$7.6bn). And riding on the Metro, 70 kilometers of it when the green line opens to supplement the red one, were the
LEFT: The Metro has revolutionised travel within Dubai
BELOW: The Metro stations are ultra- modern, enclosed platforms with air conditioning
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