From 3 to 6 May in Dubai will host an international tourism exhibition
The Arabian Travel Market is the most significant event in the tourism industry in the Middle East. Its organizer is Reed Exhibitions Ltd. The event is supported by the Government of the Emirate of Dubai.
The number of visitors and exhibitors in 2004 reached a record high: 1,515 exhibitors presented their products to 17,455 guests. The organizers of the event note that this activity is associated with the revival of the tourism business after the negative events that took place in the region.
The exhibition includes sections on air transportation, car rental, conferences, cruises, SPA and resorts, hotels, reservation systems, telecommunications, tour operator services, transport (air, road, rail, sea), travel agencies. The program of the event includes seminars and forums; On the last day of the exhibition, the annual golf tournament will take place.
Representatives of various countries of the world will participate in ATM 2005, including Russia, New Zealand, Malaysia, South Africa, Great Britain, Austria, and Switzerland.
Scary pangolins attack Dubai
Already in the spring of 2008, in Dubai you can see real dinosaurs that will appear before the eyes of surprised visitors to the unique theme park Restless Planet ("The Lost Planet").
Dinosaur Park will be the "highlight" of the new project "City of Arabia", the construction of which was pompously announced on April 26 in the exhibition hall of the World Trade Center in Dubai.
The term "dinosaurs" (dinosauria) comes from the Greek deinos (scary) and saurus (lizard). And the creators of Restless Planet did everything so that the reptiles did not at all resemble cute little animals. On the contrary, they should cause those emotions that any person would experience when meeting with a lizard, able to easily look into the window of the fourth floor.
For this, not only the latest developments of modern technology were used, but also specialists from the famous London Museum of Natural History were involved. As a result, more than 100 dinosaurs-robots created with maximum reliability will live in Restless Planet as many millions of years ago. Reptile figures will be made in Japan, famous for its ability to produce "live" robots.
Reptiles will walk, run, growl and fight with each other. The largest will be a brachiosaurus (almost the length of a tennis court), known for its columnar legs, small head and thick long neck. Diplodocus will “dwell” in an artificial swamp, and Brontosaurs on its shore.
A tyrannosaurus will threaten all herbivores and more or less civilians of the Restless Planet. It will menacingly claw with a huge toothy mouth and leave traces 80 cm long. Small nasty compsognates will create "problems" in the dinosaur world - no bigger than a goose, but with sharp teeth like a blade. Most of all they will be afraid of the peace-loving protoceratops, which today could become a person’s favorite pet. In total, 34 species of extinct reptiles will be presented in the park.
In order to make the project's focus as educational as possible, the creators of the popular BBC scientific series Walking with Dinosaurs participated in its development. Dr. Jack Horner, a Montana paleontologist who advised Jurassic Park, was invited as a special consultant. The initiators of the creation of the park hope that it will become one of the most popular in the world.
The grandiose dinosaur park, however, is only one part of the large-scale Arab City project. The project worth 7.2 billion dirhams (almost 2 billion USD) will become the home of both the world's largest shopping center and one of the most prestigious residential areas of Dubai.
Dubai's tourism industry awaits diamond seasonDubai-based Wafi Group is planning to invest more than $ 140 million in its first hotel, which will successfully complement the commercial district of Wafi City, already built on the highway to them. Sheikh Zayed.
The hotel will be managed by the renowned Raffles International Limited (RIL) hotel chain. The agreement was signed by Jenny Chua, chairman of Raffles, and the owner of Wafi City, His Highness Sheikh Mann bin Khalifa al Maktoum.
Upon completion in 2007, Raffles Dubai, which looks like a pyramid, will become a notable landmark. It will open the doors of 188 well-furnished rooms and 52 luxurious suites, nine restaurants and bars, a large banquet hall, seven reception rooms, the Raffles Amrita SPA complex and a gymnasium. The hotel's interiors will be developed by the Dubai-based LW-Design group.
The hotel complex also provides 22 500 sq. M. m of commercial space, occupying two floors, which will house 90 boutiques and one large department store. This will expand the existing mall in Wafi City.
Raffles Dubai is very pleased with its first project in the Middle East and plans to expand its network to 40 hotels and resorts. In turn, Sheikh Mann Ben Khalifa al Maktoum, chairman of MKM Commercial Holdings LLC, said the agreement was designed to strengthen the important role of the Wafi group in the development of the Dubai tourism industry.
“Raffles Dubai,” he said, “made another contribution to the de luxe real estate bank. And this is another step towards turning Dubai into a center of world tourism.”
A new pearl of the hotel business will open in Dubai at the end of next year. Arabtec is building in Media City, according to the British project, a five-star high-rise hotel LuLu (Pearl), which will rise to the sky by 287 meters.
Another major hospitality project is planned to be created on the site of the ruined old Hilton Hotel. A 38-story World Trade Center Residence with 349 residential units will be built here. The project will be rented by Asteco for 99 years.
The numbers of Dubai hotels are still in great demand, which stimulates the further expansion of hotel construction. In March, all local hotels were 95% occupied and achieved record profitability. Local economists believe that after the 2004 gold season for Dubai’s tourism business, the current season will become a diamond.
Dubai Media City free zone has changed the conditions for opening new companies
From now on, in order to open a company in Dubai Media City, capital is needed in the amount of 200 thousand dirhams (approximately 55 thousand dollars) instead of the previously existing rate of 50 thousand (about 14 thousand dollars). In an interview with the local Gulf News newspaper, officials explained that the innovation was designed to attract real publishing professionals and representatives of major publishing houses.
This week it was also announced that the Logistics Center project under construction in Dubai will offer rental options for 5-15 years. The new airport in the Jebel Ali area and the Logistics Center are expected to begin operations in 2007.
In mid-April, Dubai hosted the Festival of Culture and Civilization of World Deserts The festival was held for the second time under the auspices of the World Deserts Fund, the Committee for the Award of the International Prize for Environmental Protection named after Sheikh Zayed and Department of Tourism and Commercial Marketing of Dubai Municipality.
The main goal of the Festival is to attract the attention of the world community to civilizations for which the desert has always been a native home, to their unique cultural heritage and contemporary problems.
The program of the current Festival included not only summits of politicians, but also open conferences, seminars and presentations, a demonstration of documentaries and feature films. Those who wish could learn about the traditional way of life of the peoples of the desert, their holidays and rituals, history and languages.
The World Deserts Fund (the main organizer of the Festival) is an intergovernmental organization established several years ago by the presidents of Algeria, South Africa and Nigeria. The patron of the Fund is the President of Algeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the president is the Minister of Environmental Protection of Algeria, Sheriff Rahmani. Since June 2004, he has been recognized as an official member and observer of the UN Economic and Social Council.
New Shopping Centers Grow in Dubai Suburbs
In April, the grand opening of the new Ibn Buttuta Mall was held.
The contractor of the project was Nakheel, the center itself is wholly owned by the Dubai authorities. Particularly worth noting is its unusual appearance, symbolizing the culture of various countries that centuries ago the famous Arab explorer Ibn Buttut visited. It is expected that Ibn Buttuta Mall will quickly become popular among residents of dormitory areas of Dubai.
In the meantime, work on the creation of the Mall of the Emirates is proceeding as planned. This center is particularly interesting because in September 2005, the Winter Ski Dubai complex will open on its territory. Guests of the complex will be offered a 400 meter long ski slope, 5 ski slopes, a 3,000 square meter snow playground and a snowboarding area. More than 6 thousand tons of fresh snow will be produced daily for the complex. The indoor ski slope will be the third largest in the world and the longest in the Middle East. Each day, the complex will be able to take up to 1,500 people. As part of the overall project, a new Kempinski hotel will be rising nearby.
UAE airport charges will be levied directly at airports
The UAE Civil Aviation Department will soon begin collecting airport fees at the country's airports directly from passengers when they check in for a flight.
The airport tax is required to pay all passengers using the services of the airport, with the exception of children under two years of age and crew members.
At airports in the UAE working with international destinations, since September last year it has been 30 dirhams (8 USD). Since a charge is levied on each passenger when buying an airplane ticket, airlines must submit reports to the Department of Civil Aviation on the number of tickets sold and the total amount of airport charges for the set period that the airline received from passengers.
When it comes to specific reports, many airlines do not provide statistics on the number of passengers they carry on their aircraft. As a result, it becomes practically impossible to calculate the exact amount of airport charges in each case.
On the other hand, travel agents selling airline tickets often forget to include the airport tax in the ticket price. Travel companies suffer huge losses because they have to pay a fee from their own pockets.
In order to avoid such financial losses in the near future, airport charges will be paid by each passenger independently at check-in.
