Travel to Dubai – What with all the turmoil in the Middle East – Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and many others, tourists have been understandably worried about how smart it might be to travel to the region. There is one part of the Arab world though, that still appears an oasis of peace (not to mention immense fun) amid all this trouble – this beacon Of placidity is the high-voltage tourist destination of Dubai. The thing is, Dubai, which only in fall 2010, was reported as being in a deep hole for all its extravagances, has been in some kind of economic boom ever since the rebellion in the Middle East started. With other destinations in the Middle East closed to tourists, travel to Dubai has picked up spectacularly. Malls, hotels, restaurants – all of which languished disastrously all but ten months ago, are bursting at the seams unable to keep up with demand. Every single one of Dubai’s 65,000 hotel rooms is full. One man’s poison, you know.
The boom in travel to Dubai, though appears to primarily be driven by business.
Large multinational corporations in the Middle East that used to have offices and operations in all the other countries, have shifted base to Dubai until everything calms down. And of course, business opportunities that would’ve gone to places like Egypt Libya or Bahrain are now coming to Dubai’s doorstep. It’s the best kind of travel boom there might be – travel that results in more business, more prosperity and more jobs for all. Business prospects in Egypt and other countries though apparently, are beginning to look shaky.
Anyone today who decides to travel to Dubai for a vacation will find a landscape that is completely overrun with businessman.
Make a table reservation at a restaurant, walk down to the lobby of a hotel, take a walk in the atrium of a mall, and you’re likely to run into far more businessmen than tourists. It’s the way Dubai is shaping up today. All of which couldn’t come at a better time for the Emirate that is about $100 billion in the red for its new super expensive building projects – the world’s largest amusement park, the world’s tallest building, the world’s largest indoor ski slopes, and so on.
The only thing left to worry about is, how all the political unrest in the region just might creep into Dubai as well. Just being super rich doesn’t help an Arab country stay immune to the forces of insurrection. Just look at what happened to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.