Dubai is a liberal city in the otherwise conservative Middle East region. What Dubai lacks in oil or natural gas reserves, it makes up for as the region's tourism capital with glittering luxury malls, the world's best hotels including the first Armani Hotel that opened in 2010, an indoor ski resort, clean beaches, desert safaris, sports and other attractions. Dubai is also investing in hospitals and healthcare to promote medical tourism.
In 2007, Dubai was the 8th most visited city in the world. In 2008, the emirate attracted 7.5 million hotel guests and tourism contributed 19 percent to its GDP. Dubai is aiming to reach a total of 15 million hotel guests by 2015.
Figures for 2009 showed a 1.3 percent drop in international hotel guests in Dubai compared with the same period in 2008. This drop was attributed to the global economic downturn, an outbreak of swine flu and the weakness of the euro and the British pound-sterling against Dubai's currency, the dirham, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar. Additional factors that contributed to the drop in tourism were the high cost of Dubai's hotels and its cost of living.
Experts say the decline in Dubai's tourist industry is only temporary. Claude Attala, Middle East managing director for real estate company NorthCourse, believes it is realistic for Dubai to hit its target of 15 million tourists a year by 2015. Despite the downturn, Dubai continues to invest in new developments such as "Dubailand," which is projected to be the largest collection of theme parks in the world.
Approximately 20,000 new hotel rooms are expected to become available in 2010. New hotels should increase supply and result in a drop in room rates, making Dubai an attractive regional destination for budget travelers as well, according to Khalid bin Sulayem, Director General of Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).
Dubai plans to leverage its water-front location to increase revenue from cruises. The city inaugurated its new cruise terminal in February 2010. Tourism officials say this new terminal should help Dubai double the number of visiting cruise ships by 2013. In 2009, the emirate hosted 87 cruise ships bringing 261,000 cruise tourists while in 2010 Dubai expects to receive 120 ships with more than 325,000 passengers.
While Dubai tourism has been impacted by worldwide events, Dubai's excellent infrastructure, liberal values and continued focus on attractive new developments should help Dubai meet its tourism targets over the next decade, as of 2010.
