meet dubai INTRODUCTION
On the economic front, normal service
has been resumed with a predicted GDP growth of 3.5 percent in 2012, followed by an increase of 4.3 percent in 2013, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. Continued investment in the city’s hotel and transport infrastructure has helped growth, particularly the plethora of midscale and budget accommodation that is serving to widen Dubai’s appeal to both leisure and business travellers. The globally televised January 2010
opening of Burj Khalifa was a bonus, an awe-inspiring icon that brought new purpose to the pursuit of world records, spearheading as it did the emergence of Downtown Dubai as a major new tourist attraction for the emirate. With 2012 witnessing further resorts
opening on Palm Jumeirah to alleviate the splendid isolation of Atlantis The Palm, Dubai, as well as the debut of the 1,600- room JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai as the tallest dedicated hotel building in the world (just 26 metres short of the Empire State Building in New York), plus other names from Conrad to Sofitel, Fairmont to DoubleTree by Hilton, the scene is set for the renaissance of Dubai as a new global hotspot.
FIGURING OUT GROWTH While Dubai is assuredly back on the fast track, the rapid reversal of fortunes has served to demonstrate two key and inextricably connected elements of its success – the relentless expansion of Emirates airline and newer low-cost carriers, plus the pursuit of alternative markets to counterbalance a dangerous reliance on established sources of business. Quiz any hotelier, whether operating a
beach resort or a city corporate property and the focus will be on cementing BRICs – the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China – while other key streams of business will be the burgeoning traffic from Africa, the nearby CIS countries and the hugely valuable GCC regional markets. Indicative of this growth is the
performance of flydubai, the world’s fastest-growing start-up airline that in just
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three years has penetrated dozens of new markets in the CIS, Eastern and Central Europe, as well as the GCC, serving nearly 50 destinations in 29 countries and becoming the second largest carrier operating out of Dubai International Airport. The airline contributed to a 284 percent
growth in passenger numbers into Dubai from the CIS and Central Europe between February 2011 and March 2012, as well as an 89 percent growth from the GCC during the same period. Additionally, traffic from Russia during Q1 in 2012 rose 46.53 percent compared to the same period in 2011, according to figures from Dubai International Airport. Emirates airline meanwhile continues to
prove that aviation is a truly viable global operation, reporting its 24th
consecutive year
of profit during the last financial year with a group figure of AED2.31 billion (US$629 million) profit, with revenues up 17.8 percent
– garnered from a network of more than 125 destinations in 70 countries. According to Chairman and Chief
3 View from Palm Jumeirah towards the city
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Executive, HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the achievement belies the industry norm and comes as a result of investment in new products and increased international presence.
TOURISM FIGURES
Official visitor figures from the Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM) revealed an almost 10 percent increase on the previous year by exceeding five million visitors to the emirate in the first half of 2012. A strong increase in visitor traffic came from the GCC market, up 33 percent from last year, closely followed by Russian visitors (up 26 percent), Chinese visitors (also up 26 percent) and Indian visitors (up 12 percent) in H1 2012.
Te top source market for the first half of 2012 was Saudi Arabia with 539,766 guests, up 40 percent from the same period the previous year.
Dubai’s average hotel occupancy in H1 2012 was 82 percent with an average stay of 3.6 days, representing a 12 percent increase. Tourism contributed 31 percent to Dubai’s GDP in 2011 and it is set to contribute US$19.9 billion in 2012.
Major tourism infrastructure investments include the US$8 million expansion of the Dubai International Airport increasing capacity from 60 million in 2012 to 90 million by 2018 to become the world’s busiest airport.
According to DTCM Director General Khalid Bin Sulayem, the excellent performance is due to substantial expansion of the tourist infrastructure, an increasingly impressive portfolio of products, wider destination awareness and increased air connectivity to and from Dubai.
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