Tourism in Dubai: Overcoming Barriers to Destination Development
A Comprehensive Review
I. Introduction
The article, “Tourism in Dubai: Overcoming Barriers to Destination Development was written by for Business School, Singapore 639798. The Middle East seems to attract lesser and lesser investors and visitors every year due to political instabilities and international conflicts. Other things that prevent tourism boom in the Middle East are poor accessibility, less media exposure and coverage. Though these hindrances may relatively restrict people coming in, international tourism has been made the basic and top priority for Dubai’s diversification project. They have undertaking extensive marketing and promotion, and also given much into developing Dubai as a whole. The result is also as they have expected. The rate for tourism has soared since the projects began. Still, lots of hindrances may constrict the growth of tourism in Dubai, so steps must be taken in order to overcome these hindrances. What Dubai has gone through may serve as a lesson to itself and to others in overcoming barriers and developing itself into a strong tourism destination.
II. Main Body
Destination Development. It is critical that the destination spot be well-developed and relatively easy to access. Tourists find destinations which are accessible, full of amenities and relatively safe and interesting, more appealing to their taste. The Middle East however, is ill-suited to the taste of foreign tourists due to harsh climates, underdeveloped cities, and relatively unstable and unsafe government. Dubai, however, an oil-producing state, is greatly becoming one of the world’s top tourist destinations. The table in the article presented showed the annual growth of the rates in tourists coming into the country. Though the Iraqi war lessened the favorable growth spurt of the tourism in Dubai, it was still, nonetheless, a very good achievement, considering that its neighboring countries may well never have had that high foreign tourist rate. Factors that play a major part in the destination development will be mentioned as we go along.
II.A. Factors Critical to Destination Development.
Stability. It is a critical factor in attracting tourists into coming into the country. As was mentioned in the article, Dubai is viewed as a liberal and cosmopolitan society. It is a melting pot for different societies in the Middle East. Though Islam remains to be the basic and dominant religion, practice of religions other than Islam is permitted. Dubai enjoys a relatively low-crime rate status and little possibility of civil unrest. Also, almost 80% of its inhabitants are expatriates. From those facts alone, one can draw a conclusion that Dubai is really a stable tourist destination. Government Tourism Policy. As mentioned in the article, tourist destinations which are under less government intervention and unclear tourism agenda may thrive, but still, government intervention is a very vital part in sustaining the development of the said tourist destination. As in Dubai, they greatly focused in developing and maintaining the development of the said state. Making tourism as the heart of the diversification program, the propelled Dubai into the world’s “leading tourist destination and the commercial hub center of the world”. Visions of increased tourism rate for the coming years are slowly becoming a reality for the tourism sector of Dubai. Accessibility. For countries seeking to increase their tourist rates, having easy accessibility into their country is a must. Easy transport outside and within the destination is a plus and also a great attraction to tourists. So far, Dubai has invested much into modernizing and widening its air transport. The municipal Authority of Dubai is opting to open another international airport that would cater to more international flights and to more destinations. Emirates, the largest airlines in the middle east, owned by Dubai, has initiated plans to add more airplanes, 120 planes to be exact, to their current number of planes in order to be able to cater to more number of people and to more destinations. Dubai also invested in cruising. Simplification of VISA processing has been implemented to lessen barriers for people wanting to explore Dubai. Also, their Cruise port has been widened in order to accommodate two ships at the same time. all in all, Dubai is making accessibility into it much more easier and efficient. Amenities. Hotels and accommodation greatly affects the destination choice of tourists since of course that will be their base for the duration of their stay in that area. Dubai has been investing much on the developments of its hotels and accommodations. Its crowning achievements so far has been Burj Al Arab, the billowing sail-like hotel, The Palm, the palm shaped man-made islands which will accommodate hotels and residential areas. Plans for the construction of Burj Dubai, is well underway, accommodating the Dubai Armani Hotel, a partnership between the fashion designer and a Dubai property developer. Also, restrictions have been relaxed in order to put hospitality to foreigners into action. Attractions. For this, Dubai employed its local and some foreign attractions. It promoted activities which can be done in their climate such as windsurfing, water skiing, golfing, diving, sailing, exploring the desert, visiting Bedouin villages and other such activities that can be done in their climate. But they did not stop at this. Hey built the Mall of the Emirates which is said to be the second largest mall in the world, outside the United States, which houses snow-related activities. Plans are underway for the construction of Dubailand, a theme park that will entice everyone’s desire. Promotion. Promotion for Dubai’s above mentioned attractions are well underway and they can increase the number of tourists coming in the country.
III. Conclusion
Tourism is not restricted to better faring nations. Dubai underwent major changes to overcome challenges that faced them. They were able to overcome that and so will the rest of the Middle East, if they chose to have the same conviction and dedication as the independent state of Dubai.
Interesting NewsCredit:ivythesis.typepad.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment