Dubious Tourism Projects

The wow factor of Bawadi has not yet subsided, and the critics are out. Does Dubai need more projects right now? Is anything finished yet?

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- With the Middle East's travel and tourism industry expected to generate $66.8 million in revenue this year, Dubai is working round the clock to cater for the growing industry in the emirate, whose reputation for the extra-ordinary has attracted millions of tourists worldwide in the past few years.

But announcements made this week at the Middle East's biggest tourism event, the 13th Arabian Travel Market (ATM), rekindled the debate on whether or not Dubai is overdoing it with mega tourism projects and ambitious plans to host several huge hotels and tourism projects.

Dubai will soon host the world's largest hotel, Asia-Asia. The 6,500-room hotel will be shaped like the Petronas Twin Towers of Kuala Lumpur. Part of a project dubbed Bawadi, Asia-Asia is one of 31 hotels and other facilities to be launched over the next eight years.

The whole reason why these projects are needed is due to the demand that is projected, and thus any developer will qualify the need due to the projection. I do not doubt that there is a strong demand, especially for hotel rooms, but I would say that the demand needs to be dummed down a little. If Dubailand was trimmed down or rescheduled, so should the estimates. If there are further projects that are in the offing, those should be disclosed now, or else 8 years down the lin, there may a hell of a lot of empty rooms.

I think it is time for some accurate numbers to be projected. And the real information that we need to know is how those numbers are projected.

My basic projections are on par with about 50% of the growth that is being talked about. If that is the case, then there should be something else in the offing to supplement DubaiLand. I look forward to hearing what that is.

More from the Midle East Times

UAE Reforms

It is now time to reform how business operates. It is also time to put laws in place to protect the consumer. According to Sheikha Lubna:

The country, she said, will issue a competition law, a rent control law, and change the Commercial Company Law and Commercial Agencies Law, among others. She also said that the government will privatise the utilities services.

The UAE is in the process of amending the Federal Companies Law. The main amendments pertain to the removal of the equity capital restriction, which presently is that 51 per cent should be national equity. These amendments will also streamline the authentication procedures by giving investors several options to attest through public notaries or registered law firms, she said.

Lots of change on the way, apparently, from a legal standpoint, with effects that should continue the growth based on protectionism since the UAE was established.

These types of policies sometimes get overlooked here due to the "big bang" stories concenring major construction projects. Behind all these stories, a legal framework needs to exist to maintain the stability behind what is apparent in the foreground.

The UAE is stepping into a new era, and these new laws, which may be unpopular to some, will assist in the UAE success story.

Dubai is a Model for Africa

Although Dubai itself it in development mode, developing countries who are at an earlier stage of modernisation are looking at what has worked with the boomng Emirate. The most recent example is Ghana, hopeing to emulate Dubai's success with a free port model.

Mr. Kyerematen mentioned 26 different projects under the Programme, and said the purpose of making Ghana a free port country is to make "it the Dubai and Thailand" of West Africa

Ghana to become the Dubai and Thailand of West Africa

Dubai Drivers get their groove back

Fed up with the traffic. Join these guys:

A few years ago, the contests were mainly informal affairs. "We used to just meet on Sheikh Zayed Road" -- the city of Dubai's main thoroughfare -- "on Fridays or at night when it was empty," Mr. Khawaga says. Drivers would pull up next to each other, roll down the windows and nod their heads to mark the start. "Instead of just cruising, we'd race," he says.

The races are mainly about reputation and machismo, but in the United Arab Emirates bets are another draw. Wagers from racers or spectators have reached as much as 100,000 dirhams, or more than $27,000, according to participants.

A worrying sport which apparently is difficult to stop.

Dubai Druggies

An article about rehabilitation and the escalating problem in Dubai.

"I tried everything I could get my hands on," said the man, a grim-faced 33-year-old who insisted on anonymity to protect his privacy. Along with friends, he began experimenting a decade ago, and soon recreation led to dependency. "I got hooked on pills and alcohol," he said, and his arms showed telltale signs of old needle pricks. "Then my brothers and I agreed that I needed to get help," he added.

Bustling Gulf City Finds It Has Imported a Drug Problem

The Case of the Sour Milk

Once upon a time, many moons ago, there was a man. He was a simple individual, and wanted only to carry on with life without bother. The man lived in the countryside which meant that the farm in the area were the main suppliers of the milk. This was not a problem, as the farm's delivery boy would deliver the milk to him every morning, and at the end of the week he would pay the farmer's son. The delivery was usually punctual, and although it was a little expensive, he was happy to pay for the milk since he needed it. He certainly did not want to go the village everyday to buy milk from them. And so he was happy with the milk that he received.

And so life carried on for the man. His milk would arrive every morning and every friday afternoon the farmer's son would come to collect payment for the previous week. The man would thank the farmer's son. The farmer's son sometimes told the man about other things that farm produced and occasionally the man would buy extra milk, even some bread or cheese. This carried on for many years, without issue, and although he had heard from the villagers nearby that the milk was sour or that it didn't arrive or that it was expensive, the man had no real issue with the quality of the milk, the delivery of the milk or even the cost of the milk. After all, he was the one who had made the decision to live way out in the countryside and he was happy that he could even receive milk, and that it was delivered to his door. Before he had moved to the countryside, he had thought that a milk delivery service did not even exist!

One day, on a Wednesday morning, the man woke up bright and early, and opened the door to get his milk, that was usually delivered about that time. Surprisingly, it wasn't there. The man scratched his head. This was strange. The man got worried. Perhaps the delivery boy was ill? Perhaps he had forgotten to deliver the milk? The man continued his day, a little concerned but he could live without the milk for one day. He was sure that milk would arrive the following day.

The next day, again the milk wasn't there. The man grew a little more worried. Why hadn't his milk arrived? He needed the milk. Even his cat needed the milk. The farm was far away, so he decided that he would go to the village to buy some milk from there. On the way he saw some of the villagers and told them of what had happened. He wondered if those who had milk delivered had still received their milk. Strangely, the villagers had received their milk. Why hadn't he received his? The villagers laughed at him and said that this kind of thing happened all the time, and that he shouldn't be surprised.

On the friday, in the afternoon, the man received a knock at the door. This was expected and the man would be able to ask the farmer's son why he had not received his milk. The farmer's son, however, asked the man to pay for the milk for the week. He even asked the man to pay for yoghurt. This was strange. The man had never asked for yoghurt. Indeed, he didn't even like yoghurt. The man told the farmer's son that he hadn't received milk for three days and that he had never ordered the yoghurt, ever. The farmer's son said that, according to his log book, this is what the man had ordered and received and that he would have to pay. And if he had a problem, that he would have to go and see the farmer himself. The man reluctantly paid the farmer's son and asked him when the farmer would be at the farm so that he could visit him. The farmer's son said that the farmer is always at the farm on a Sunday morning and this would be the best time to go and visit the farmer.

On Sunday, the man got up early so that he could go and visit the farmer. The man was a little bothered by the situation, not least because Sundays were when the man would walk to the river and go fishing to catch his fish for the week. Sunday mornings were the best time to go fishing since he was able to catch the biggest fish since the rest of the villagers would go later in the afternoon. When the man got to the farm, the farmer was no where to be seen. He saw cows and chickens but but neither the farmer nor the farmer's son were around. The man waited for a while, but still no farmer. The man left, a little angry that the farmer's son had said that the farmer would be there, and that he had wasted his morning. He went to the lake to catch some fish, but the best fish were gone and he had to be content with the smaller fish. He then made the journey to the village to get his regular supplies. The villagers laughed at the man's misfortune saying that it was only a matter of time before something like this had to happen to him. After all, it happened to them all the time. They told him not to worry, because they had heard about another farmer having bought some land nearby, and soon he would be able to get his milk from this new farm, who would also be providing a delivery service. This made the farmer a little happy, despite his current situation.

On his way back from the farm he bumped into his neighbour. The man told his neighbour about the predicament he was in, and that as soon as the new farm started producing milk, he would be getting his milk from this new farm. The neighbour sighed and told him that the new farm would not be delivering milk for some time. The cows needed to be bought from a faraway village. There were even rumours that the new farm may have to buy some of the cows from the first farm, which was worrying because the neighbour thought the milk was sometimes sour. The only thing that the man would be able to receive would be bread and eggs. This did not help the man, because while he liked bread, it was the milk that he really needed.

The man thanked his neighbour and bid him goodbye. The neighbour promised to tell the man if he heard anything else about the new farm, but told him not to hold his breath about it. The man went home, gave some milk to the cat and went to sleep.

On the Monday, the man got ready to go the village to get his milk. When he opened his door to go out, there sat some milk! Evidently, the farmer's son had told the farmer about the situation and the delivery boy was now delivering the milk as usual. The next day, the same thing and the same the following day. Things were back to normal, the man was happy - even the cat was happy!

On the Friday afternoon, there was the regular knock at the door from the farmer's son who asked him to pay for a week's amount of milk. Everything indeed was back to normal. The man was not even bothered about paying for the extra yoghurt from the previous week, since all he wanted was his milk. The man thanked the farmer's son for sorting out the problem and that he didn't even want a refund for the yoghurt. The farmer's son looked at the man blankly. He said to him that he didn't know what the man was talking about and that last week the man had paid as usual for a week's worth of milk that he had received. The man was a little confused by this, but he thought to ignore it, since he now had a regular delivery of milk. The man thanked the farmer's son and said goodbye.

On the Monday, the man woke a little anxious, just in case the milk was not there again, since he was too busy to go to the village to get milk. He opened the door. Slowly. There lay the milk. The man smiled. Even the cat purred. He poured the milk for himself and a little for his cat.

But the cat didn't lap up the milk as usual. And the man sipped his milk, and spat it out immediately. It was sour.

The man got down on his knees, with the cat by his side and they prayed for the swift opening of the new farm.

Jealousy

This article is tinged with jealousy.

May 4 (Bloomberg) -- When Omar bin Sulaiman takes delivery of the red Ferrari F430 he ordered in January, he'll have two of the company's sports cars in his collection. He also owns a Bentley Flying Spur and a Porsche Cayenne sport-utility vehicle.

``If God blessed you with wealth, you should enjoy it,'' says Sulaiman, 33, who runs the Dubai International Financial Centre, a hub for investment banks in Dubai, a sheikdom in the United Arab Emirates. The F430 is an eight-cylinder, 483-horsepower speedster that goes from zero to 100 kilometers (62 miles) an hour in four seconds.

Ferrari Fever Hits Persian Gulf as Sheikdoms Spend Oil Billions

Pick a Cricket Wicket- UAE Stadium Wars

Yesterday Sharjah, Today Abu Dhabi, Tomorrow Dubai

Even without the sniff of corruption, Sharjah would still probably have fallen by the wayside. In a region where money is not an obstacle, the Abu Dhabi Cricket Council had already committed to ploughing millions of dollars into building the 20,000-capacity Sheikh Zayed Stadium, with plans to make it the unrivalled home for offshore cricket.

...but with ICC relocating to Dubai Sports City, which, with all things in Dubai, will provide a bigger stadium, Abu Dhabi looks to play second fiddle, while Sharjah remains the home of chickens.

And while we are on the subject....

....of planes and airports and the like, here is proof that Etihad have gone large in their advertising.

So large, that if I saw it in the middle of nowhere, I would probably drop my shisha pipe.

The supporting infrastructure

If you are going to have Vegas in the Middle East minus the casinos, you better have some way of getting all those people into the country at a quick enough rate. No worry, we'll build the largest airport.

"Dubai World Central International Airport (JXB) ... when complete will be the world's largest with a capacity equal to that currently of Chicago's O'Hare and London's Heathrow (combined)," it said.

"Dubai World Central will be a new city where eventually some 750,000 people will live and work," it said, adding the project was designed to support Dubai's aviation, tourism, commercial and logistics requirements until 2050.

The airport will have a capacity of 120 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of cargo per year. It will have six 4.5 kilometer runways capable of receiving all aircraft, including the double-decker Airbus 380.

I'm telling you - if these are the kind of records that are being announced now, can you imagine what it will be like during Dubai Summer Surprises?

Time Out's Favourite UAE blogspots

This featured in Time Out Abu Dhabi, and I just managed to get a copy. There are some nice words from Ms Michelle Madsen. There's also an interview with two female UAE National bloggers that is worth reading. Go buy your own! In the meantime, here's a teaser.

Dilbert in Dubai

A little mid-week fun.

The World's Biggest Hotel in Dubai

When I say World, I'm not referring to the islands. Dubai looks to break another record with a mammoth size hotel.

...the Bawadi project outside Dubai city will have more than 29,000 hotel rooms, including the 6,500-room "Asia Asia" hotel which it said would be the largest in the world, and was expected to accommodate more than 3 million tourists by 2016.

This surely rubber stamps the tourism focus of Dubai. There's no going back now!

More from Reuters

Valet, Sir?

The announcement of the Robopark is one of those things that make you scratch your head, either in awe or wonder. I am not yet sure about the reasons for this investment. Perhaps:

1. To attract more tourists
2. Parking spaces are difficult to find these days
3. This is the future.
4. All of the above.

The question is, how do you tip, and how much? And if you don't tip, will the robot remmeber for next time?

Dubai - The Railroad for the Middle East

The Towering Dream of Dubai

Railroad is a metaphor often heard in Dubai, an autocratic city-state ruled by a dynasty that evokes a language uncommon in the Arab world today: an utter confidence, brimming with pride and optimism, that collides with the dejection heard elsewhere in the Middle East. It has emerged as a 21st-century phenomenon, a city of perspectives, whose globalization suggests its inspiration and the discontent of those left behind.

A all-encompassing "drive through" interview drom the Washington Post regarding Dubai. A good summary on the current situation and perception.

Print it out, and read it when you're stuck in the traffic on your way home tonight. ;>

Fat man on the abra syndrome

Fat man on the abra syndrome: if there are five smallish people on an abra and a huge 200 kg giant steps on the abra, the abra will tilt whichever way the big man wants to go. The same happens in the Dubai market, until there are enough smallish people and/or enough bigger players to stabalise the abra then the boat will continue to tilt when the big man moves.

Realism from Sean Kelleher (Lies, sheer lies and newspaper articles)