The reason I was going to Dubai was that I had the pleasure of being invited to TDIM 2008 Tourism Development Projects & Investment Market, a unique event which was extremely well organized by Reed Exhibitions. The B2B conference had the goal of bringing together real estate investors, developers and industry professionals active in the MENA region.  Most of the major, government owned real estate developers were present with pristine booths to show their impressive new projects.

Daily seminars were held, inaugurated by Mr Saleh Al Geziry, head of the Dubai government’s Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing.  In his introductory speech, he stressed that Dubai is working non-stop on creating further attractions to increase and sustain the growth in the Emirate´s tourist arrivals. Elements such as the ever expanding Emirates Airlines, Cruise Lines, 440 hotels with 40.000 rooms, wonderful shopping facilities such as the Emirates Mall, golf courses and the fact that you can ski on water, snow and sand in the same place, have made Dubai a favourite destination for many travelers globally.

One of the most interesting seminars was held by Mr Jean Claude Baumgarten, President of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) based in the UK. The WTTC is a non-profit making organisation which was established in the late 1980s out of the initiative of airlines’ CEOs who saw the need to raise awareness of the importance of the industry. Today, the members of the organisation consist of 100 CEOs of the world´s largest Travel & Tourism companies. I was impressed to learn that T&T actually generates 10.4% of the global GDP (7 trillion USD), employing 231 million people! Mr Baumgarten explained that according to Oxford Research, the 2008 macro drivers will be:

•    The credit crunch
•    The high oil prices
•    The US housing market
•    The weakening US Dollar
•    The growth of China

An interesting fact that he mentioned as well is that globally the growth in trips made per capita is greaterr than the GDP growth. The last mentioned macro driver leads to expect that by 2020 a hundred million Chinese will be travelling overseas, 1 in 14.5, taking into account their population growth by then. This increase in travelers will make China number 2 in T&T economy in terms of size, following the US which will retain its number 1 position.

So what about the future of incoming tourism in the UAE? According to the WTTC long term forecast, earnings from inbound investors would grow by 7.2% annually until 2015. What they have understood very well in the UAE is that the growth of the T&T industry relies for a large part on the infrastructure of air transport, roads and ports, which respectively rank nr 7, 12 and 9 globally.  I was lucky to see a huge scale model of the Dubai International airport at Dubai World Central, which will include the world´s largest cargo and passenger airport. Another vital element to attract tourism is of course entertainment Dubailand. This should launch its first phase in 2010 as the world’s most ambitious tourism, leisure and entertainment project, and is likely to be an important factor in achieving the projected 15 million visitors by 2010.

Of course statistics are extremely useful for making investment decisions; however, it is also very important to realize that Dubai is becoming one of those places like NYC, London, Paris and Shanghai which you just have to see, and preferably visit on a regular basis! I have not come across anybody yet that has been to Dubai without experiencing the “wow-factor”.   Furthermore, it’s a magnet for professionals looking to boost their careers in the new 'Centre of the world', creating a strong end-user market for the real estate sector.
It is simply the overwhelming phenomenon, the incalculable wealth, the ambition and the sheer magnitude of it all that will always attract people to this, the world’s most fantastic and lavish of business and tourism hubs!