Tourism

Abu Dhabi: Tourism resilient

As mature tourism markets in the West are starting to feel the pinch of the global economic slowdown, Abu Dhabi's sector remains resilient and even pushes forward with increasing room capacity. Tourism in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is in good shape. Visitor numbers grew at a healthy clip of 7.6 per cent year-on-year, according to the latest figures from the UN's World Travel Organisation. Inward bound traffic to Europe, on the other hand, grew by only 2 per cent during the first 8 months of the year. This figure slipped to 1 per cent during the summer, when the financial crisis was at the forefront of traveler's minds.

NoozzVIEW; Dubai still attracts chefs and bankers

Despite the rigours of the international credit crunch and its knock-on effects in the Middle East, Dubai is still attracting the top celebrity chefs from London and leading executives, who are being actively recruited despite the well-publicised lay-offs at some Dubai banks. It is being stressed in recruitment circles that the lay-offs in banks were only minor job cuts, mainly restricted to those in investment banking only. Taylor Hofer, a leading Swiss executive search firm with branches in Dubai, Zurich Johannesburg, Perth and Singapore said that even some of those institutions that have grabbed unfavourable headlines elsewhere are continuing to hire in the UAE.

NoozzVIEW; Egypt ends tourist convoys

Egypt's lucrative tourist industry, one of the most populous Arab country's main sources of foreign exchange (especially now that Suez Canal revenues are under serious threat as shipping seeks to escape the Somali pirates menacing traffic through the Gulf of Aden), is due for an important boost from the new decision to end the anti-terrorist practice of tourist convoys. For the past 10 years, if any tourist wanted to see the wonderful treasures along the Nile and did not want to travel by boat, they were required to travel in armed convoys designed to deter attacks from militant Islamic terrorists. The drastic restriction had been introduced in the wake of the 1997 attack on the spectacular Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor.

Dubai tourist inflows to drop in 2009

The UAE is likely to see a drop in tourist arrivals from Europe next year due to difficult economic conditions facing the European outbound market and the fall in the euro's value against the dirham, an industry expert said. "Europeans have seen a decline in the value of their investments and real estate. Combined with the unfavourable exchange rates between European currencies and the dirham, which has increased the cost of visiting the UAE by at least 25 per cent, the UAE faces a challenging time in maintaining the growth enjoyed over the past three years," said Alex Kyriakidis, global managing partner of hospitality and leisure sector at the auditing firm Deloitte.

US$275m Qatar theme park plan unveiled

Qatar has unveiled plans for a US$275 million theme park to be completed by the middle of 2012. The country's first five-star entertainment destination will be launched within the Qatar Entertainment City (QEC) with the support of the major theme park operator Six Flags Inc. The theme park project will include dry rides and water rides, roller coasters, canals, high-end shopping malls, spas and food courts. Developed in an estimated area of 500,000 square feet, the park will emerge as a major tourist destination of the region, said Yousef Ali Darwish, General Manager, QEC.

NoozzVIEW; Qatar becomes Gulf art hub

As the competition among the oil-rich Gulf States to become the artistic and cultural capital of the region intensifies, Western critics have given top marks for the moment to tiny Qatar as a result of the glittering opening of its new Museum of Islamic Art in Doha. That took place last month amid some of the leading figures in the international art world and celebrities, including Hollywood actor Robert de Niro and Rolling Stone, Ronnie Wood fresh from his own art exhibition in London's West End.

Tourism plan forms part of Oman commercial growth

A deal has been signed by tourism chiefs to build the latest piece in the jigsaw to create a new industrial and commercial hub in Oman. Omran, the government of Oman's tourism & development executive arm, has inked an agreement with the Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) to develop Crowne Plaza Duqm Resort in Duqm, a 228-room hotel due to open in 2011. It is the latest stage in a master plan to develop Duqm which also includes designated areas for an airport, an oil refinery, free trade zones and oil storage facilities as well as a fishing harbour.