Not-so-fatal attraction: two cents on tourist attractions

Not-so-fatal attraction: two cents on tourist attractions

Maybe a lot of Kipp readers are afraid of heights and prefer to burn under the sun. Apparently, they don’t think much about the world’s tallest tower.

August 1, 2011 3:26 by Eva Fernandes

When Kipp asked readers what they thought were the main tourist attractions in the UAE, we got not-so-surprising answers. In a place like Dubai, shopping is normally considered a main attraction and that is accepted world over.

In our poll around 35 percent said they thought the UAE was a one stop shopping destination and absolutely no one thought spas were a main attraction in the UAE—should spas start shuddering at this thought?

Around 2 percent felt the UAE, particularly Dubai, was a good transit spot before going to Haj in Saudi—not so great news for those planning to create just that pit stop identity for Dubai.

Meanwhile in Abu Dhabi, 2 percent thought Ferrari World was a main attraction but overall 17 percent still see the UAE’s vast open beaches, the sun and the sand as the main attractions making the country widely popular among tourists.

And what of the world’s tallest building, you may ask. Kipp’s readers apparently do not think much of it, with only 9 percent saying Burj Khalifa was the UAE’s main tourist attraction. In fact, 10 percent felt clubs and bars UAE attracted tourists the most.

What’s most telling, Kipp thinks is that a quarter (25 percent) of our readers couldn’t think of a tourist attraction at all. In a place like the UAE, nowhere to go? Imagine that.