Dubai Desert safari has become ever more popular tour in Dubai. Undoubtedly every tourists wants to take this tour but for Dubai the local residents and expats take this tour nearly every 6 months or so. After all what is it that keeps taking this tour again and again.
We spoke to Nadine Harb of Dubai Travel & Culture Services, who herself organises these tours. I asked her what she felt when locals call her up every now and than to take exactly the same tour. She said well the main thing is life in Dubai is somewhat monotonous although there are nulerous things available for people to get entertainment but it is very seldom that you see a person who doesnt feel being in the same circle of events every day.
Nadine say she herself feels the same way and when she is out on a desert safari she is actually looking forward to the sands outside the desert camp where she can draw different things without thinking what other will say or think.
“I just enjoy being out in the open sky and fidling with sand just the way I like.” she says.
One of the reason of taking a desert safari as a weekend outing is that the cost of Safari is way less than any good dnner at a nice restaurant in Dubai, where you sit in nice comfortable airconditioned atmosphere, but you end up being exactly in the same situation where you are the whole day. On the other hand the desert safari provides you an excellent opportunity to come close to nature and enjoy a great meal and most of all pay far less than the high end restaurant in Dubai.
An other reason is also the visitng foreign guests at the epats of Dubai. People from India and Pakistan visit Dubai and stay with friends and family and every household makes sure that the visitor experiences the desert safari.
What ever reason be the fact is desert safari tour has many repeat visitors and it has indeed become a household tour of Dubai.
To book a desert safari you may reach Nadine’s company web sit’s desert safari page
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DUBAI, UAE – More than 7,200 tourists arrived aboard five mega ocean liners that were greeted on Thursday in the finest of Emirati traditions at the DP World operated Dubai Cruise Terminal, or DCT, in Port Rashid.
The five vessels – Costa Victoria, Queen Mary 2, Silver Whisper, Pacific Princess and Costa Favolosa – were anchored together at Port Rashid, sending a clear signal that Dubai is a prime destination for cruise tourism in this region. In January, Dubai Cruise Terminal hosted four large ocean-going cruise vessels at the same time.
The management of DP World, UAE Region, which operates Port Rashid, successfully implemented a plan to handle all five vessels at once in close coordination with Dubai Tourism & Commerce Marketing, or DTCM, Dubai Customs, Dubai World Security, The Roads & Transport Authority, or RTA, and travel and tour operators.
DTCM organised Emirati folk music, dances and other cultural activities much to the delight of the visitors.
Help desks were set up offering the guests tourist information in different languages. In October 2011, DP World announced plans to expand the Port Rashid cruise terminal facilities in order to strengthen its leading position as the largest cruise hub in the Middle East. DP World’s is vision for Port Rashid to eventually be able to serve as many as seven cruise vessels at one time.
Mohammed Al Muallem, senior vice president and managing director, DP World, UAE Region said: “The success in handling five mega passenger vessels simultaneously confirms Port Rashid’s ability to embrace the growth in cruise tourism. It is a clear sign of Dubai’s position as a cruise destination of choice. Our expansion plans for Port Rashid are in line with Dubai Government’s efforts to make cruise tourism an economic growth engine. DP World is committed to investing long term in the transformation of Port Rashid towards this end with the support and close cooperation of DTCM, our strategic partner in promoting the cruise industry in Dubai.”
Mohammed Al Mannaei, director – Port Rashid, DP World, UAE Region, said: “Welcoming multiple cruise ships and taking care of thousands of passengers at one time are challenges that we embrace with enthusiasm. Our highly-trained staff members and baggage handling teams worked in tandem with our partners to ensure that our honoured cruise guests experienced a memorable visit to Dubai. We look forward to more such visits.”
Early this year, Dubai Cruise Terminal was voted, for a fifth time, the World’s Leading Cruise Port at the prestigious World Travel Awards, competing against 17 regional winners for the honour.
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So far, 160 historic buildings, including forts, watch towers, old city, houses, mosques and markets, have been restored and by 2016, the Architectural Heritage Department plans to take this number up to 220
Dubai The emirate of Dubai is rich in more ways than one. A popular business and tourist destination, the place has well preserved what it has inherited.
From its oldest building, the Al Fahidi Fort, to the house of Shaikh Saeed Al Maktoum, historic buildings such as the Al Ahmadiya School and the areas of Bastakiya and Al Shindagha, Dubai continues to retain its glory.
So far, 160 historic buildings, including forts, watch towers, old city, houses, mosques and markets, have been restored and by 2016, the Architectural Heritage Department plans to take this number up to 220. ”In 1950s, there were around 2,300 houses and buildings and a lot of them were demolished in the 1970s and 80s. From 1985, the Municipality started restoration and now we have 160 buildings that have been restored,” Rashad Mohammad Bukhash, Director of Architectural Heritage Department at Dubai Municipality, said.
As the department continues restoration work, by year 2016, the number of buildings that would be restored in the emirate would reach 220.
Every building that completes 40 years comes to the department for evaluation. The categorisation is based on the architectural and cultural value besides other aspects. A building that falls in category A, for instance, will have its original shape maintained and bear minimal changes. Al Fahidi Fort, the oldest building in Dubai, falls under category A. In Dubai, 45 of the 492 buildings that are listed as historic fall under this category.
Presently, a lot of restoration projects are ongoing in Shindagha area. “We want to rebuild Shindagha as it was in 1950. Four years down the line, restoration work in this area will be completed, and just like Bastakiya, it will become a major cultural and tourist attraction,” Bukhash said.
There will be more traditional bazaars, museums, galleries, restaurants, non-profit organisations and office buildings for the government in the area. The department is aiming to get recognition for historic parts of the emirate along the Creek, including Al Shindagha, old souqs and Al Bastakiya, as world heritage sites from the Unesco.
“A preliminary list was submitted in December. We plan to continue adding more sites to it. We have more than 20 sites which we plan to include at later stages.”
Shaikh Saeed Al Maktoum House: a historic attraction
One of the most important landmarks in the traditional heritage architecture, the Shaikh Saeed Al Maktoum House was rehabilitated in 1986.
The residence of the ruler since 1896, it is presently being used as a museum for historic documents and pictures.
Restoration work for the house included strengthening of the structures, foundations and ceilings and other work within the framework of the traditional design.
One of the earliest and largest houses in Shindagha, it is distinguished by its wind towers, its gypsum decorations and is one of the most sophisticated historic houses. The house is a strong example of a beautiful visual experience created by light and space.
Different building types as per traditional designs
In the historical zones, the main building types according to the architectural elements were defensive, residential, commercial and religious. Forts, watchtowers and gates are defensive buildings, linear shops and souqs are commercial, the traditional stone houses are residential while mosques and katatibs are religious buildings.
The main elements used in traditional architecture are wind towers, arches, air pullers, parapets and crenellations.
The wind towers could have double, tripe or multiple openings with flat or arched ends and the style could also differ in terms of the parapet and the recesses.
Arches used in the traditional buildings were flat, circular or semi-circular with different levels of elevation and detailing on corners. Rich variations of gypsum decorations and wooden screens were common in houses and other types of buildings.
Manpower issues
Availability of manpower to carry out the specialised task of restoring the historic buildings is equally crucial and was a challenge in the initial phases. ”Now, after 20 years that we started, we have our own engineers, architects, interior designers. The expertise required is different from the work that is done on modern buildings and the department also conducts trainings for the same. Presently, we have more than 70 people in the department and over 300 masons. Additionally, we get international experts.”
The people engaged in the work come from different countries, including India, Pakistan, Egypt, Syria and Bangladesh among others.
Dubai’s traditional architecture has directly been impacted by a mixture of nationalities as the original developers also came from different countries. This means that extra attention is required to retain the design element.
For instance, in many of the historic buildings, the designs of doors and windows are influenced by Indian architecture. A prominent entrance door in Hatta was imported from India. Similarly, wind towers came from Iran.
The traditional designs catered to climatic conditions. A high-density urban fabric, where buildings were close to each other creating sikkas (narrow alleys that remained shaded for most part of the day), courtyard type houses where most of the rooms looked inward with shaded arcades overlooking an open space to conduct constant air circulation, and wind towers that acted as conduits for trapped air to be directed to the rooms were the result of climatic conditions.
The well-insulated walls helped minimise heat and reduced direct sunlight penetration in houses. Exterior walls had minimal windows and where they existed, they were limited to narrow slots. Elements of design were added to local concepts to define its style and character and also cope with traditions and requirements of Islamic society.
In restoration work, efforts are to create an exact replica. Toward this, the Architectural Heritage department has made a detailed survey of the decorative elements and is now in the process of allotting codes to each of these elements. “The codes will help know the exact details of where that particular element was used in a building, in which room or which house it came from; we now have about 2,000 elements.”
The only changes in the designs are addition of electricity, air conditioning and introduction of modern toilets. “These changes are internationally accepted and we use them in such a way as to not affect the design,” Bukhash said.
Design considerations
One of the oldest markets and located in the old historic area, a walk through the souq takes one back to old times instantly.
It was restored in 1996 and continues to be an important business area with a number of commercial shops, stores and offices which retain patterns used in traditional markets.
From the exteriors, which are shaded, to the doors and the outlets, the souq is an important attraction for tourists as well.
The restoration has been done in accordance with the timeplan of different stages to make the market area attractive in all aspects.
Al Fahidi Fort is the oldest historic building with defence characteristics.
Other prominent defence buildings include forts, city walls, watchtowers and gates.
The fort was built in 1799 and was used as the ruler’s residence until 1896 when Shaikh Maktoum Bin Hasher Al Maktoum moved to Al Shindagha. It was also a place of shelter for people whenever they were attacked.
The building was preserved in 1994 to showcase its historic value and was designated to become the national museum for Dubai.
Hatta Village
Restoration work in Hatta Village started in 1997 and it was opened for the public over a decade ago.
Located more than 100 kilometres away from the city, Hatta Village is located between two mountains. Archaeological discoveries show that the village was inhabited 2,000-3,000 years ago.
It was decided to use it as a heritage village to revive old social customs and traditions. The village represents a remarkable architectural form that includes about 30 buildings — the fort, the house of the governor, the mosque, houses, palm trees farms and water irrigation channels.
The building of Al Ahmadiya School was conserved 17 years ago. The restored school was officially opened in the year 2000.
The oldest semi-official school in the emirate of Dubai, it was originally built in 1912 by Shaikh Ahmad Bin Dalmook and was named after him. The school has among its alumni many renowned names and it was a major centre of knowledge and science.
It is two-storeyed, with a middle open space connected to a main entrance, and surrounded by rewakes, with traditional arches leading to different classrooms.
It was decided to rehabilitate it into a museum in order to illustrate the history of education in Dubai.
Environmental challenges The traditional architecture of Dubai effectively utilised design elements and construction materials to deal with the hot and humid climate here.
The houses had thick walls for insulation, fewer windows to prevent glare penetration and devices to take advantage of the cooling breeze.
Due to scarcity of solid building materials in coastal areas, people quarried coral reefs to substitute for stone. The porous material of the coral block made it an excellent natural insulating material.
Coral stone, shell and gypsum were the basic materials for walls; pal leaves, chandals and wood joists were used to construct roofs.
“Due to less availability in local markets, we have to mostly get the materials from other countries as we want what was used originally in the traditional construction. We are importing the material from places like Yemen, Burma and East Africa,” Bukhash said.
However, once restored, the buildings are much stronger than modern day concrete structures and require maintenance every two to three years.
“We have to be careful about the routine problems that can arise like termite but generally, these are stronger.”
Retaining original form The clear challenge is to keep the building as close as possible to its original form and efforts to restore it start from getting to know what the building was originally. ”After identifying a building, which is a continuous process, we do a complete architectural survey. For example, we take old pictures of the building to know how it originally was, and also try to reach people who lived in that period or in those buildings.
“The effort is to keep the original as much as possible and a replica is made only when the original form is totally damaged. We have conducted at least 300 such interviews so far for the buildings that we have restored,” Bukhash said.
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Abu Dhabi: Tickets for the fourth Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, to be held at Yas Marina Circuit between November 2-4, go on sale globally today.
This year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is the third from the end and the F1 drivers will move from here to the US and then sign off in Brazil.
“We work very hard to raise the bar every year,” said Richard Cregan, Chief Executive Officer, Yas Marina Circuit.
“For 2012, we are offering new ticketing and entertainment options that allow spectators to customise their weekend experience based on their needs and interests,” Cregan said.
Nick McElwee, senior spokesman, Yas Marina Circuit, said that all grandstand tickets were now available with a 20 per cent discount.
“We have a 20 per cent early bird discount which we start tomorrow, when we go on sale. This runs up to the end of May 31,” McElwee said.
Destination marketing
North, South, West, and Marina Grandstand tickets are priced Dh1,875 for two days and Dh2,080 for three days. Two-day tickets are now available at Dh1,500 and three-day tickets are available for Dh1,665 until May 31 with the 20 per cent early bird discount.
“We have got more choices in terms of tickets, more entertainment and much more of Abu Dhabi will come together to deliver the real Abu Dhabi for our regional and international travellers,” he said.
“We are looking for the event to be as successful for the international and regional travellers as it is for the local audience. Our approach this year is more than race promotion, it is about destination marketing especially when we go to our international and regional audiences,” McElwee said.
“I think it is also relevant to our local audiences, for them to bring their friends and families and make it an occasion for them to invite them to Abu Dhabi,” the Yas official said.
“If you see in the packaging which we have teamed up with our title sponsor Etihad Airways, to deliver a series of all-inclusive flight, hotel and race weekend packages.
“One is for the motor sport enthusiast, the other one is for the entertainment seekers package and the third is a lifestyle and luxury package. There is a choice of three-star, four-star and five-star and one can pick and choose, there is a choice of add-ons across those three packages,” McElwee said.
Interesting mix
“We have a really interesting mix and this concept of customising experience is very new and we have worked with all our Abu Dhabi stakeholders to deliver a grand Grand Prix weekend,” he said.
Outlets: Where to book
Tickets are available through a wide range of outlets, including selected Etihad Airways shops, Virgin Megastores across the UAE and GCC, the Yas Hotel and Yas Marina Circuit itself. They are also available from the 800 927 (YAS) call centre and from the website at www.yasmarinacircuit.ae.
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Dubai’s hotel sector has been boosted by the Arab Spring, renewed corporate activity and record numbers of visitors to the Dubai Shopping Festival. The thriving Dubai hotel sector will receive a further boost from this year’s 17th Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), which is expected to attract record numbers of visitors.
Dubai, Dubai, UAE, Country., January 31, 2012 – (PressReleasePoint) – Dubai’s hotel sector has been boosted by the Arab Spring, renewed corporate activity and record numbers of visitors to the Dubai Shopping Festival. The thriving Dubai hotel sector will receive a further boost from this year’s 17th Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), which is expected to attract record numbers of visitors. Last year, around 3.5 million tourists flocked to Dubai for the festival, which generated $4.08 billion in revenue for the city. But a study by You.Gov predicts this year could be considerably bigger. The DSF, which runs for 32 days from January 20, 2011 to February 20, 2011 has been organised to coincide with school holidays, which will increase the number of families at the event.
Special offers for the Festival
One of the biggest beneficiaries will be the Dubai hotel sector. Hotels, travel agents and tour operators sell the DSF worldwide and run at peak levels during the event. Most Dubai hotels and apartments, including the world-famous Burj Al Arab, provide special offers on rooms during the festival. Emirates, and most other airlines flying out of Dubai, offer discounted airfares and excess baggage allowances during the festival. Emirates, for example, is offering a US$75 DSF hotel package.
The DSF, known in Arabic as ‘Layali Dubai’, was started in February 1996 by the Dubai Government as a retail event aimed at promoting trade. Since then it has become an annual shopping, entertainment, and cultural extravaganza that draws an international audience. It is basically a shoppers’ paradise. Over 2,300 retails outlets offer everything from gold and perfume, to haute couture, cars, electronics, handicrafts and textiles.
But over the years, other events have sprung up to take advantage of the thousands of visitors. There are now international fashion shows, street-side performances, nightly fireworks, film festivals, and many other cultural events that reflect the emirate’s cosmopolitan character. The world’s richest horse race, the US$ 12 million Dubai World Cup, also coincides with the shopping festival.
First Central Hotel Apartment’s
If last year is anything to go by, hotel occupancy rates will soar during the DSF. In 2011, many hotels in the emirate reached 100% occupancy. Hotels which are well-situated for the festival will be especially in demand. One example is the Dubai-based British property developer The First Group’s First Central Hotel Apartments, which are right by the Dubai Metro’s Tecom station, and offer the height of luxury to tired shopaholics. The apartments are just a few minutes away from the Mall of the Emirates and a short ride from the Dubai Mall.
In fact, Dubai’s hoteliers have already reported occupancy levels up this January compared with January 2011. The rising trade has certainly been helped by the Arab Spring diverting tourists to the emirate, as their fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries find Dubai to be a natural substitute for places like Egypt and Morocco. But there are other factors which have helped hotel business, including consistently good weather and the general improvement in corporate activity in recent months. The emirate’s relative affordability compared with its pre-crisis peaks has also played a role. As has its increasing appeal to markets such as China, India and eastern European tourists.
Rises in 2011
The positive news in the early stages of 2012 continues trends in the Dubai hotel industry in 2011. STR Global reported that visitor levels had risen beyond eight million by the end of last year. Also, the revenue per available room, or RevPAR, recorded an average rise of 8-9% in 2011. During the month of October, Dubai’s hotels posted a 13.5% increase in RevPAR to $194.05, second only to Jeddah in the Middle East and Africa region (MENA).The majority of hotels in Dubai also recorded occupancy levels as high as 85% for the month of October. Clearly, events such as the DSF will build on these impressive figures.
Dubai is now the 18th most popular tourist destination in the world, worth about $7.8 billion in 2011. And the UAE has the largest number of hotel rooms, with a total of 40,176 available, or being built. The nearest contender in the MENA region was Saudi Arabia with 5,531 rooms. The increasing activity in the hotel sector is making property developers confident about their new investments. After years of insecurity, the market looks back on track with 2012 set to be another year of growth. New developments, such as The First Group’s Tecom hotel apartments, Metro Central and Grand Central, will add to the city’s diverse hotel supply.
Other Dubai developers have made bullish assertions about the market. Seven Tides, for example, claims it will be looking for new opportunities as the market improves. Seven Tides believes that interest in Dubai properties is rising back to pre-crisis levels and that there is particular interest in the Palm. This means mixed-use developments are becoming sought after once again. Seven Tides expects to open its Royal Amwaj resort on the Palm Jumeirah, and its Oceana hotel, also on the island, in the first quarter of next year. Other developers have been inspired by the upturn to restart work on projects which had been put on hold. For example, Al Habtoor is restarting work on its US$272.2 million hotel on the Palm.
Strong economic performance
The renewed vigour in the UAE’s hotel and tourism industries is reflected by the stronger performance of the UAE economy on international indexes. For instance, in the 2011 Human Development Report, an annual survey put out by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UAE was ranked number 30 worldwide among 187 nations. Countries ranking depends on their performance on three variable of the human development index (HDI) – life expectancy at birth, education and income.
The ranking of 30th was ahead of all Arab countries and many European countries. The second-placed Arab country was Qatar, which came 37th. The UAE economy also had a great year in 2011. According to a report by Standard Chartered Bank, the UAE enjoyed economic growth of 3.8%, allowing for inflation. The reasons cited for the growth were steady oil prices, strengthened oil production and the spillover effects of the Arab Spring. Inflation is also a non-existent threat, standing at around 1.6 per cent in 2011 and predicted to rise slightly to 2 per cent in 2012.
The First Group is an award winning international property developer, specialising in emerging markets and is currently pioneering iconic projects in the UAE and Africa. The group has a proud history of over 20 years’ experience and success, and continues to produce and develop bespoke property investments in some of the world’s most desirable locations.
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DUBAI – For the first time in its history, DP World’s Dubai Cruise Terminal has welcomed four mega cruise ships at the same time, underlining its ability to cater to the rapid growth of cruise tourism in the city.
The four vessels, which can carry more than 9,000 passengers, called at Port Rashid over a 24-hour period and were berthed simultaneously.
Cruise tourism has been growing swiftly in Dubai. The award-winning Dubai Cruise Terminal experienced a 30 per cent growth in tourist traffic between 2009 and 2010, from 100 ships and 260,000 passengers to 120 ships and more than 390,000 passengers. The pattern continued in 2011, with 135 cruise vessel calls and 375,000 passengers visiting, according to the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, or DTCM. In light of the growing demand, DP World is expanding the existing terminal facilities to serve as many as five cruise ships at one time and plans to eventually expand the terminal to be able to serve as many as seven cruise vessels simultaneously.
Mohammed Al Muallem, senior vice-president and managing director of DP World, UAE Region, said: “Dubai Cruise Terminal’s success in handling four mega passenger vessels at one time confirms Port Rashid’s ability to embrace the growth in cruise tourism in Dubai. This event demonstrates the cruise terminal’s capacity and the readiness of its infrastructure to cater to multiple large cruise vessels at once. DP World is committed to investing long term in the transformation of Port Rashid into the region’s cruise destination of choice with the support and close cooperation of DTCM, our strategic partner in promoting cruise tourism in Dubai.”
Mohammed Al Mannaei, director of Port Rashid at DP World, UAE Region, said: “Accommodating four cruise vessels and handling many thousands of passengers simultaneously was a challenge we were ready for at the port and we succeeded in ensuring smooth anchorage for the large vessels. I would like to thank all those involved for their commitment and cooperation in carrying out this operation.”
Just two weeks ago Dubai Cruise Terminal was voted, for the fifth time, the World’s Leading Cruise Port at the prestigious World Travel Awards 2011, competing against 17 regional winners for the honour.
business@khaleejtimes.com
By K. T. ABDURABB | ARAB NEWS
Published: Jan 26, 2012 23:17
Updated: Jan 26, 2012 23:17
DUBAI: The UAE attracted a huge number of Saudi nationals this week as several people left the Kingdom to spend a short school midterm holiday in the UAE.
Hotel and tourism specialists said the number of visitors might cross 200,000.
Government officials, however, could not confirm this figure immediately.
In fact, holidays in Saudi Arabia and Oman, combined with the Dubai Shopping Festival, have created a huge shortage for hotel rooms in the UAE.
The hotel occupancy has been high for the last one week and rooms were not available even in small hotels in Sharjah and Ajman.
Hussam Al-Jaffar, a Saudi National from Dammam, said he was enjoying his stay in Dubai and most of his hotel mates are Saudi nationals.
“Every year, I visit Dubai with my family. I prefer to spend my vacation in the UAE because it is close to Saudi Arabia and it has modern shopping facilities like European countries,” he added.
“Of course, I visit tourist attractions in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi too,” he said.
Thomas Kurian, director of sales and marketing at Flora Group of Hotels in Dubai, said Saudi nationals occupied 50 percent of their rooms during the past week.
“We have about 700 rooms and 50 percent of our guests for this period have been from Saudi Arabia. Since our property is non-alcoholic, the demand from Saudi Arabia is always high,” he added.
Salem Abdullah, a visitor from Saudi Arabia who was staying at a hotel in Ajman, said he could not find a room in Dubai because of high demand.
“The demand is high and hotels have increased the tariff also. Even in Ajman, I am paying more than AED600 per night per room. It was AED250 before,” said Salem, who is a regular visitor to the UAE.
“Since it is vacation time for schools in Saudi Arabia, we have seen an amazing turnout of families in Dubai. All our hotels are fully booked and have up to 60 percent of their guests from the Kingdom. Dubai Shopping Festival has once again proved to be a major attraction for families from the neighboring GCC countries, particularly Saudi Arabia,” Sadiq Iqbal, director of sales and revenue management, Coral Hotels Resorts, said.
“We are doing well at the Grand Millennium Dubai with the hotel enjoying 100 percent occupancy. Since we had secured our business in advance, we could only accommodate 10 percent guests from KSA. We have seen a high demand from Saudi Arabia recently,” Peter Mansourian, general manager of Grand Millennium Dubai told Arab News.
“The Holiday Inn Dubai in Al-Barsha is fully booked with 20 percent of guests from Saudi Arabia. There has been a high turnout of travelers from the Kingdom owing to the school holidays in the country,” said Gilles Nicolas, director of operations, Holiday Inn Dubai.
“We have had a terrific response from Saudi Arabia. We are running at 100 percent occupancy with nearly 30 percent of our guests from Saudi Arabia. We have both leisure and corporate clients owing to two major events happening in Dubai — DSF and Arab Health,” Hassan Al-Jawhari, director of sales and marketing, Park Regis Kris Kin Hotel in Dubai, told Arab News.
“Saudi Arabia is one of our key feeder markets and we have, at the moment, nearly 30 percent of our guests from the Kingdom,” said Aamir Pervez, general manager, Corp. Executive Hotel Apartments.
Hotel and apartment rooms are not available in Ajman, says Dinesh, manager of Hamilton Hotel in Ajman. Currently 50 percent of my guests are from Saudi Arabia and Oman.
“It was an unexpected turn-out from Saudi Arabia, we couldn’t accommodate many guests. I diverted a number of guests to hotels in Umm Al-Quwain and Ras Al-Khaimah,” Dinesh added.
He agreed that hotel rates have shot up.
“Rooms are not even available at furnished apartments, so, naturally the rates will go up,” he said.
“We used to go to Egypt and Lebanon. However, since last year we visit Dubai and it is a calm place with attractions” said Khaled Omar, a visitor from Jeddah.
Abdul Rahman A. M. Al-Khateeri, a school student who came with his parents by road from Riyadh, shared similar sentiments. “For me, the most interesting place is Sharjah’s Islamic Museum, because I learned many things from there,” Abdul Rahman said.
Dinesh Chaddah, general manager of Sharjah-based Citymax Hotels, said he is sad as he could not accommodate many guests from Saudi Arabia.
“We were overbooked due to DSF and Arab Health Exhibition in Dubai. In general, most of our guests, are from Saudi Arabia and Oman only,” he said.
Dubai tourism officials said the visitor figures will be ready by next month.
A top executive at Sharjah tourism office said that they are unable to provide the number of visitors at this time as the data were still being processed.
© 2010 Arab News
Brokers choose sandwiches over stocks as trade volume sinks
By
Zahra Hankir
Photograph by Newsha Tavakolian for Bloomberg Businessweek
Nabil Rantisi
Photograph by Newsha Tavakolian for Bloomberg Businessweek
A year ago, Nabil Rantisi spent his days trading stocks at a Dubai brokerage. Today he fills orders of a different kind. The gourmet deli he opened in September serves roast beef in a Yorkshire pudding wrap and other lunchtime fare to crowds that include his former clients. “Business was getting too slow, and at some point you have to decide where time would be spent in a more valuable way,” says Rantisi, who quit his job as brokerage director at Rasmala Investment Bank in June.
Three years after the collapse of a real estate bubble, Dubai’s financial industry is still in decline and shows little signs of recovery. Of the 98 brokerages active in 2008, 41 have suspended operations. The market value of shares in Dubai’s benchmark DFM General Index stood at $27.4 billion on Jan. 17, compared with $123.9 billion at the end of 2007.
Endowed with less than 10 percent of the United Arab Emirates’ oil reserves, Dubai has charted an economic course heavy on trade, tourism, and finance. The U.A.E.’s largest metropolis set its sights on becoming a regional finance hub. To attract global banks, asset managers and insurers seeking to capitalize on the region’s rising oil wealth, the city’s rulers set up a tax-free business park, the Dubai International Financial Centre, in 2004.
Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley were among those that opened offices there. By early 2008, Dubai’s main stock index had risen almost sixfold from its level five years earlier.
Then came the crash, caused largely by real estate speculation that left the government and state-owned companies saddled with about $110 billion in debt. Dubai, home to the world’s tallest skyscraper and palm-tree-shaped manmade islands, received a $20 billion bailout led by its wealthier neighbor, Abu Dhabi.
While the economy is on the mend—growth in the U.A.E. accelerated to 3.3 percent last year—foreign interest in Dubai has been dampened by Europe’s sovereign debt crisis. International investors bought shares worth $762 million in the third quarter, down 83 percent from the same period in 2009.
Banks including Credit Suisse Group and Nomura Holdings have trimmed their equities or equity research divisions in Dubai as trading volume has plunged. Al Futtain HC Securities, a leading Dubai-based broker, said on Jan. 4 it would end operations in the U.A.E.
Vyas Jayabhanu, the manager of Al Dhafra Financial Broker, has found a new line of business while he waits for the market to turn around. The 35-year-old broker is moonlighting as a hotel and nightclub developer. “In tourism, there’s something for everybody,” says Jayabhanu over coffee at Boutique 7 Hotel Suites, a four-star Dubai hotel he helped get off the ground. “Encouraging clients to trade in this market is not ethical.”
“The smart brokers who manage to stick around will capitalize big time when volumes come back,” says Rantisi. The owner of the 1762 deli—named for the year the Earl of Sandwich supposedly asked for his meat to be served between two pieces of bread—is not holding his breath. He and his partners are gearing up to open a second branch of their establishment in another Dubai business district next month. Says Rantisi: “Business has exceeded expectations.”
The bottom line: A prolonged slump has Dubai’s brokers looking for other lines of work. The market is down 84 percent from its high in 2005.
Hankir is a reporter for Bloomberg News in Dubai.
January 15, 2012, 1:16 AM EST
By Zahra Hankir
(Updates with market drop in seventh paragraph.)
Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) — Nabil Rantisi, who sold stocks during the United Arab Emirates’ boom, now oversees orders of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding wraps from crowds including former clients.
“Business was getting too slow, and at some point you have to decide where time would be spent in a more valuable way,” said Rantisi, who quit his job as the director of brokerage at Rasmala Investment Bank Ltd. in Dubai in June to help start a deli named 1762. The 34-year-old now works a few hundred meters from where he used to fulfill share orders.
Three years after the Dubai bubble burst, its financial industry is still in decline and shows little sign of recovery. While the emirate successfully restructured debt and invested in transport and tourism, 41 of the 98 local brokerages active in 2008 suspended operations.
Banks including Credit Suisse Group AG and Nomura Holdings Inc. have trimmed their equities or equity research devisions as trading volume on the Dubai Financial Market plunged 77 percent after 2009. Al Futtaim HC Securities LLC, a Dubai-based broker ranked first by value traded in July according to the Dubai Financial Market website, said Jan. 4 it would end operations in the U.A.E. The number of employees in the Dubai International Financial Centre slipped to 11,331 in July of last year from 11,436 in 2009.
Market Crash
The crash followed real-estate speculation as government and state-owned companies amassed about $110 billion in debt. Dubai is home to the world’s tallest skyscraper and palm-tree shaped islands off its coast. By early 2008, the benchmark DFM General Index had risen almost six-fold in five years.
The market value of shares in the U.A.E. is now $97 billion, less than half the $206 billion at the end of 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Foreign investors have reduced holdings of Dubai stocks amid Europe’s debt crisis and political uprisings that ousted leaders in Egypt and Libya. They bought shares worth 2.8 billion dirhams ($762 million) in the third quarter, down 83 percent from the same period in 2009, according to the Dubai Financial Market website.
Dubai’s benchmark index slumped 17 percent in 2011 compared with a 20 percent drop in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Abu Dhabi’s measure retreated 12 percent. The value of shares traded in Dubai tumbled to about $5 million on Nov. 16, the lowest since 2004. The DFM General Index slipped 0.5 percent to 1,327.54 at the 2 p.m. close today, down 84 percent from a high in 2005.
Drop in Volume
Trading volume in Dubai plummeted to a six-year low even after state-owned holding company Dubai World reached a restructuring agreement with creditors in March. The company roiled global financial markets in 2009 when it sought to halt repayments on about $25 billion of debt.
The U.A.E. will have to wait until at least June to be upgraded to emerging market from frontier status in MSCI Inc. indexes, which determine the stocks that tracking funds buy.
With little to trade, ex-stockbrokers are running restaurants, nightclubs and luxury hotels, waiting for a catalyst to reignite markets. Vyas Jayabhanu, the manager of Al Dhafra Financial Broker LLC, has spent the past year developing Boutique 7 Hotel and Suites, a four-star Dubai hotel complete with a bar, a café and soon a nightclub.
Moving Investment
Business has been good, Jayabhanu, 35, said in an interview over coffee at the hotel’s Garden of Eden café. “If you’re bankrupt, you drink more,” he said. “It’s a win-win situation.” The café sports tables made of wood imported from Scotland, surrounded by trees and bushes, and offers shisha, the water-pipe smoked in the Middle East.
“During the boom you saw everyone investing more to capture market share,” said Rantisi of 1762, a reference to the year the Earl of Sandwich supposedly asked for his meat between two pieces of bread so he could stay at the gambling table. “It was overdone, and that was the first signal that the cycle was coming to an end,” he said. “Today is the opposite. People are getting out of the business or moving to other investments as the market dries up.”
Dubai, which has less than 10 percent of the U.A.E.’s oil reserves, set up the DIFC, a tax-free business park, in 2004 to attract global banks, asset managers and insurers to help diversify its economy. Banks such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and HSBC Holdings Plc. added staff in the region as rising oil wealth increased demand for financial advice.
Expanded Too Quickly
Dubai expanded too quickly, said Akram Annous, former Middle East and North Africa strategist at Al Mal Capital PSC who left the company in November. “For now, I’m working on enhancing my personal brand,” the 33-year-old former banker said. “Maybe I’ll bring a franchise to Dubai, such as a shisha- based bowling alley, a fusion enterprise of some sort. Or maybe I’ll start a twitter feed.”
Rantisi’s former company, Rasmala, which has a research venture with Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, has moved away from retail brokerage services, as have HSBC and Shuaa Capital PSC. Shuaa, the U.A.E.’s largest investment bank, scaled back its research department to two employees as it cut costs, two bankers familiar with the matter said Jan. 10.
“We are simply not making any money through brokerage,” said Jayabhanu of Al Dhafra. “There’s a vicious fight to make use of small volume. In tourism, there’s something for everybody,” said the broker, who spends much of his time on the hotel project. “Encouraging clients to trade in this market condition is not ethical.”
Banks Also Suffer
Regional lenders have also suffered after the global credit crisis weakened lending, crimped investment banking and spurred loan defaults. Fees earned by banks in the region fell 42 percent to $320 million in the first nine months of 2011 from $551 million during the same period the year earlier, according to New York-based research firm Freeman Co.
Bond markets have recovered, with the average yield on debt in the U.A.E. slumping about 200 basis points since the end of 2009 to 5.36 percent on Jan. 10, according to the HSBC/Nasdaq Dubai UAE US Dollar Bond Index.
Al Dhafra still operates with four brokers in Abu Dhabi, the U.A.E. capital that led the $20 billion bailout of Dubai, Jayabhanu said. The brokerage was ranked 30th by value traded in December on the Dubai Financial Market.
“One thing that could boost volumes would be the inclusion of the U.A.E. in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index,” Georges Elhedery, head of global markets for the Middle East and North Africa at HSBC, said by e-mail Jan. 4. “Inclusion would have the effect of allowing international Emerging Markets funds to access this important market.”
Key Designation
MSCI indexes are tracked by funds that oversee about $3 trillion in assets, so getting promoted to emerging market from frontier can increase investment. MSCI cited investor’s questions about the effectiveness of a new settlement system as a reason why it kept the country under review.
The U.A.E. and Qatar, which is also up for review from frontier market status in June, “deserve an upgrade on the basis of their financial strength and economic and political stability,” Paul Cooper, the Dubai-based managing director at Sarasin-Alpen Partners Ltd., which oversees more than $500 million in the Middle East, said by e-mail Dec. 21. “The difficult global economic environment could work in the region’s favor as its financial strength could justify an overweight stance here.”
The Securities Commodities Authority, the U.A.E. market regulator, plans to issue rules on liquidity providers, short selling and security lending and borrowing in the first half, Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Al Turaifi said in November.
“The smart brokers who manage to stick around will capitalize big time when volumes come back,” Rantisi said. Meanwhile, the former broker and his partners plan to open a branch of 1762 as soon as this month in Jebel Ali, another Dubai business district.
“We haven’t hit a wall in sales figures yet,” Rantisi said. “And business has exceeded expectations.”
–With assistance from Shaji Mathew and Dana El Baltaji in Dubai. Editors: Philip Revzin, Claudia Maedler, Riad Hamade
To contact the reporter on this story: Zahra Hankir in Dubai at zhankir@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Maedler at cmaedler@bloomberg.net
A NEW daily flight between Glasgow Airport and Dubai will benefit everyone from whisky makers to tourists, according to business experts.
Emirates Airline will give a boost of more than £200million to the city’s economy with a second daily flight starting from June 1, as reported in later editions of yesterday’s Evening Times.
About 400 extra passengers will fly in and out of the airport every day as a result and tourism bosses and politicians hailed it as fantastic news for Glasgow’s economy.
Stuart Patrick, chief executive of Glasgow Chamber Of Commerce, said: “We welcome this investment decision by Emirates as a clear vote of confidence in Glasgow’s continuing economic success.
“This expansion of Emirates’ service to the international hub at Dubai is vital to growing Glasgow-based engineering companies such as Aggreko, Weir Group and Clyde Blowers – all of whom are operating beyond Europe and into Far East markets.
“It is also important to the whisky and tourism industries.
“This great news is yet more vindication of BAA’s decision to retain Glasgow Airport.
“The management team there is doing an excellent job in exploiting the airport’s assets and in attracting new flights during what remain tough times.”
The link to Dubai allows Scottish travellers to catch connecting flights to destinations around the world, including Australasia and Africa.
It was first introduced in 2004, since when the single daily flight between Glasgow and Dubai has carried more than 1.7m passengers and over 46m kilos of cargo to and from the Middle East and beyond.
The new flight will create up to 12 direct jobs and generate millions of pounds in visitor revenue.
The additional flight, coupled with an aircraft upgrade on the existing service, will increase Emirates’ capacity to and from Glasgow by 47%, an extra 398 seats per day – 199 each way.
Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson said the new flight would be a significant boost to the city’s economy and competitiveness.
He said: “It is estimated the twice daily service will deliver local economic benefits of £33m, with almost 140,000 inbound passengers this year alone.
“Over the next five years, the route will be worth more than £200m.”
It will also see the introduction of a first class cabin in both daily services, the first time this has been offered by a commercial airline from Scotland.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, said: “This announcement of the new expanded service underlines Emirates’ confidence in the Scottish market’s ability to sustain and grow.”
stef.lach@ heraldandtimes.co.uk
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The National has published an interesting article about the boom of tourism in Dubai this year. Many people relate the increase in number of tourists in Dubai to the unrest in the Arab world however there is an other factor that can be the main cause of increase in tourism in Dubai and that is the increase of options to see in Dubai.
Dubai is not any more a shopping destination it has matured from mere 2 days shopping to the luxury beach travel desert adventures and also the remarkable Burj Khalifa is attracting a lot of people to come to Dubai.
In my own capacity as a tour-operator I have seen many different type of tourist coming to Dubai. There was a time the numbers of tourists counted were mainly just the transit passengers from south Asia, than came the time when we had lot of Europeans started to come and as the economy of the western countries was shaking a slump came. This slump it self has managed to be a learning curve for the Industry Dubai hotels have realized that they just cant keep increasing prices.
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The touroperators managed to get themselves organized and now are able to offer more professional tour services. Even the guides have been able to understand that the time is not always the same and now they must give good service to stay in the job hence the Industry has not been matured and is ready to accept more tourists.
Tourists come to another country for pleasure as well as for learning the new cultures and new systems. Dubai has now developed enough infra structure and also enoug of its high paced history which attracts people towards it.
I remember I used call Dubai “Concrete Paradise” that implieng that there was no substance in it there was no natural development in it. Now I can not say that any more. I am now myself developing new tour packages which are centered towards showing people the culture of Emirates and also history geography and the huge success in building the remarkable buildings like Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab and Ibne Batuta mall etc. Recently in our company we have started a new tour called Islam awareness tour that tries to show people how Muslims live their life and what are the teachings of Islam. In about 6 hours we are able to give enough material to a tourists that he or she can go home and actually can talk about the basics of Islam.
Similarly another half day city tour has also been developed that gives people a taste of traditional culture of Dubai. We take people to old areas of Dubai let them taste the spices and offer them traditional Lunch or breakfast at a special Arabian restaurant.
There are now ques at Burj Khalifa for entrance tickets just like at the Colosseum in Rome or any other place. People now come to Dubai not just to shop or to sat 2 days in transit but now its a full length tourist destination which need atleast 7 days to explore it.
Costa Favalosa and Aida Blu will offer weekly regional itinerary with Dubai as home port
The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) organised a grand welcome ceremony at the Dubai Cruise Terminal to mark the maiden calls of Costa Favalosa and Aida Blu cruise ships to Dubai.
The newly-inducted cruise ships will offer weekly regional itinerary with Dubai as the home port, it was announced at a ceremony attended by senior officials of Dubai Customs, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA), DP World and World Security at the terminal and DTCM Director-General, Khalid A bin Sulayem, among others.
Costa Favalosa is a new ship of Costa Crociere of Italy, inaugurated on July 2, 2011 in Trieste. The 114,500 tonnage ship has a carrying capacity of 3800 passengers and 1110 crew. Aida Blu is a new ship from Aida Cruises, a German cruise liner, with a capacity to carry 2050 passengers and 607 crew members.
Costa Favalosa and Aida Blu will operate weekly cruise itinerary in the Arabian Gulf with Dubai as their home port. Favalosa will bring more than 100,000 passengers in 19 calls to Dubai and Aida Blu will account for more than 50,000 cruise passengers to Dubai in 13 calls to Dubai in the 2011/12 cruise season.
Dubai will close this year by receiving 135 cruise ships with 375,000 tourists while 2012 is expected to bring in 150 cruise ships with about 425,000 passengers.
A tour of the ships was also organised for media representatives. Addressing a Press conference, Hamad bin Mejren, DTCM Executive Director for Business Tourism, said: “It has been over a decade since DTCM began to promote cruise tourism to Dubai. Our continued efforts in conjunction with our 18 overseas representative offices and the opening of the first state-of-the-art cruise terminal in Dubai in 2001 began to draw the attention of the cruise lines around the world when we received 17 ship calls and 6,900 passengers in the first year.”
He said DTCM was already in collaboration with its partners, DP World, to build additional cruise terminal facilities to cater the anticipated growth of the business. We forecast 150 ship calls with a passenger turnaround of more than 600,000 passengers by 2015, he added.
© Emirates 24|7 2011
