Sinister strategies: How far will UAE go to attract dollars?

Sinister strategies: How far will UAE go to attract dollars?

Making hay while the sun shines isn’t always the most PC thing to do. Not that it matters to tourism experts in Dubai, who are always willing to see the silver lining of every thunder cloud.

July 7, 2011 2:43 by Eva Fernandes

There is just something slightly sinister about the invariable optimists at the Dubai tourism sector. For one thing, Kipp remembers how, early this year, many analysts and experts didn’t spare any time to point out that the Middle Eastern unrest, the Arab Spring, as some call it, was beneficial for the UAE’s tourism sector. Now, facts are facts; just as business is, indeed, business. But the PC sensitive side of Kipp, (yes, even we have a soft side) can’t help but think that maybe touting the calamitous uprising as a boon for Dubai’s long-suffering tourism scene is just a tad tactless.

And now, as things ever so slightly slow down in the Middle East, analysts haven’t hesitated that the consequent boost in tourism Dubai has enjoyed is also slowing down. “The headline number has softened for a second consecutive month, suggesting that the lift the UAE received from unrest elsewhere may be fading” Simon Williams, the chief economist for the Middle East and North Africa at HSBC told The National.

And while the scorching summer sets in, regional unrest slows down and Ramadan approaches, it would seem tourism in Dubai is in for a rough couple of months. But never fear, Dubai hoteliers have great plans to tempt pilgrims on their way to Mecca for Ummrah, to stop over in hedonistic-haven Dubai to what exactly before before the ultimate cleansing in Mecca. We’ll leave you to fill in those blanks.

Are we the only who sees just how iniquitous this all is?