ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - UAE Interact

162UNITED ARAB EMIRATES YEARBOOK 2006ADTA is regulating the emirate’s tourism sector, developing its infrastructure,improving its profile, and marketing it across the globe. It has identified WesternEurope as its primary target market, particularly the UK and Germany. Abu Dhabi’splan is to add 20,000 more hotel rooms by 2015, bringing the total to around27,500 rooms. The emirate is expecting to host 240,000 business tourists a yearby 2015, against a figure of around 40,000 recorded in 2004. The target for leisuretourists has been fixed at three million against current arrivals of 835,000.The strategy appears to be working well on all fronts. Abu Dhabi National Hotels(ADNH) announced a 47 per cent increase in profits to Dh106.6 million for the firstquarter of 2005, compared to Dh72.7 million for the same period in 2004. As withthe huge contribution that Emirates airline has made to UAE tourism, particularlyfocused on Dubai, the establishment of Etihad Airways has already played avaluable role in promoting visitor numbers to Abu Dhabi. Emirates Palace, locationfor the 2005 GCC Heads of State summit, deserves special mention. It is a mostimpressive hotel whose sandy coloured structure occupies a magnificent part ofAbu Dhabi’s beachfront, its majestic marble walls and ornamented domes visiblefrom afar. Built at a cost of around Dh1.8 billion (US$490 million), the hotel hasnearly 440 rooms and suites, 12 restaurants and other entertainment facilitiesand houses the Middle East’s largest auditorium with space for 1200 people.The capital city is thus building on its natural attributes to attract more visitorsand to make the experience of living in the city more enjoyable. It already hasmagnificent golf courses, many international brand city hotels with beach andresort facilities, new shopping malls, heritage centres and the benefit of an islandlocation with acres of beach.But in terms of huge tourism projects there is little to challenge the sheer scaleof Dubailand, Dubai’s ‘ultimate leisure destination’. It has already expanded byat least 50 per cent in terms of land usage, project value and scope of workfrom the original plan, and will now spread across 279 million square metres,attracting an investment of Dh35 billion when completed. The project will bedeveloped in four phases extending until 2020. Once completed, it will house300,000 residents and cater to more than 200,000 visitors daily. The project wasoriginally conceptualised by the Dubai Development and Investment Authorityand developed by the Dubai Tourism Development Company (DTDC). It waslater brought under Dubai Holding. DTDC has been replaced by Dubailand LLC,which will manage the entire complex, requiring 50,000 project staff.The task of creating world-class attractions in Dubai has taken its plannersaround the globe. Acquisitions of key companies has been one of its policies. In2005 Dubai International Capital purchased the Tussaud’s Group, the largestoperator of visitor attractions in Europe. It is likely that the Tussaud’s Group willhave a strong involvement in creating Dubailand as a world-class tourism attraction.