Travel industry takes flight

When you look at the sectors that drive some of the world's strongest economies, the tourism industry usually counts among the top five. The UAE is no exception. In Dubai, tourism, contributed 31 per indirectly and 21 per cent directly to GDP in 2007. And as Dubai has done, Abu Dhabi
has also started an aggressive initiative to highlight tourism as a key pillar of economic diversification.

Other emirates such as Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Ajman are also on the same track. The initiatives undertaken by the federal government in addition to the efforts of the individual emirates have also set the
ball rolling for more growth in the tourism sector.

According to figures from The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Dubai International
Airport received more than 34 million passengers in 2007.
The emirate's fast-expanding hotels and hotel apartments, which showed 82 per cent occupancy, registered a
growth of 25.8 per cent to 50,306 units in 2007.

They also generated revenue of Dh13.262 billion. The number is expected to rise by 3.4 per cent by 2010 to 63,317
units and leap to 48.2 per cent by 2016 when the total units will cross 93,867.

This growth is in line with the Dubai Strategic Plan, a planned approach to develop the emirate's most dynamic economic sectors. The plan, the brainchild of His Highness

Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum,Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, aims to attract 10 million tourists to Dubai by 2010 and 15 million by the end of 2015.

The potential for more tourists has pushed the emirate's hospitality sector, including companies such as the Jumeirah group, into expansion mode.

"Dubai is definitely continuing to grow and we will
see more hotels, a new airport, additional leisure facilities and other offerings to travellers open up within the next couple of years. There is, without a doubt, room for growth in the region and we are welcoming the competition coming into Dubai as well as other neighbouring destinations,"
says a spokesperson from the Jumeirah group.

The group, which has enjoyed a significant increase in occupancy year-on-year, plans to expand its portfolio to 57 luxury hotels and resorts by the end of 2011 of which
properties in the Middle East and Africa will account for 45 per cent.

Emirates, Dubai's national carrier, has also decided to augment the efforts to drive tourism with its expansion plans.
Airline president, Tim Clark says, "We have a very young and modern fleet and we continue to invest in technologically advanced aircraft. At last year's Dubai Air Show we signed contracts for 120 Airbus A350s, 11 A380s and 12 Boeing 777-300ERs, worth an estimated $34.9 billion at list prices." The airline forecasts that its fleet will comprise 156 aircraft by 2010, serving 101 destinations and carrying some
26 million passengers.

Clark says that by expanding its international network, Emirates is connecting Dubai to newer markets in the Americas, Africa and Asia and is boosting the city's arrivals.

"The airline is also supporting the Dubai government's vision of transforming the city into one of the world's top business
and tourist centres through the launch of two new properties - The Harbour Hotel and Residence and Green Lakes Serviced Apartments, both managed by the airline's hospitality management division, Emirates Hotels and Resorts," he says. Emirates will also be running a new
low cost airline that will be launched following a directive by Shaikh Mohammad.

This airline will improve the accessibility of Dubai to a much bigger community of tourists across the globe. Tourism is also growing in Abu Dhabi as the emirate makes its presence felt internationally with its infrastructure development drive.

The emirate's government has also made tourism one of the priorities in ‘Plan Abu Dhabi 2030', which has been charted to address overall development in the emirate.

Lee Tabler, CEO, Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), an investment arm of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), says tourist numbers are expected
to rise from the current 1.8 million annually to 3.3 million in 2015; 4.9 million by 2020 and 7.9 million in 2030.

Etihad, the emirate's national carrier, also projects six million passengers in 2008 and eight million in 2009 with the rise in tourism.Tabler sees Abu Dhabi becoming a leading international cultural and leisure centre due
to its Cultural District on Saadiyat Island.

The island will include attractions such as the Shaikh Zayed National Museum, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi, a performing arts centre, a maritime museum and arts pavilions.

In terms of new hotels under development, Abu Dhabi will also have hotels such as the MGM Grand. Abu Dhabi National Hotels (ADNH) is also building three new world-class hotels in Abu Dhabi to address room shortages, including the JW Marriott Resort and Spa, the Saadiyat Resort and a new business hotel at Capital Centre.

Sharjah is also following Dubai and Abu Dhabi in pushing tourism to boost its economy. The hospitality sector in particular has been showing growth.

In fact, 15 new hotels opened in the first quarter of 2007 taking the total number of hotels there to 89 and the number
of rooms to more than 7,000. Air Arabia has also played an important role in promoting tourism. The airline is the
first low-cost carrier (LCC) in the region, and has achieved considerable success. "The emirate's position as our key hub in the Middle East has helped Sharjah's airport grow and prosper.

We are also directly helping Sharjah's tourist industry by building a three-star hotel connected to the airport for our passenger use and launching a joint venture with handling and maintenance companies at the airport to expedite passenger journeys.

"The result has been the flourishing of the tourism industry and hotel occupancy rates. We fully expect Sharjah to become one of the premier destinations for travellers
in the Gulf in the near future," says Housam Raydan, Corporate Communications Manager, Air Arabia. Raydan, says the airline, through its new hubs, also has extensive expansion plans, including adding more destinations,
driven in part by their recent purchase of 49 Airbus A320s.

Like Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah is seeing tourist figures rise as it registered over 90 per cent hotel occupancy last year. A Gulf News report in February stated the number of
visitors to the emirate during 2007 was an estimated 500,000. The report quoted Hilary McCormack, manager of RAK Tourism, as saying that the previous year had seen
a 40 per cent increase in tourists.

The emirate is also looking at having 20 new hotels, supplying around 7,500 rooms, by 2012 in line with the government's plans to draw 2.5 million visitors.

Ajman is also positive about attracting more tourists with the Dh50 million Al Zawra development, as is Fujairah, which
is popular with domestic tourists for its natural beauty. The Fujairah Paradise project, which includes around 1,000 villas between three mountains, a 250-room hotel and other tourism-related facilities, will play a big role
in enhancing tourism.

However, in addition to inbound tourism,
the UAE is also a very viable market for travel and tourism companies, as it is home to a growing population with a high per capita income. The country's local population and huge expatriate community like to travel and that has also helped the regional tourism industry grow.

One can see evidence of that at the annual Arabian Travel Market exhibition in Dubai. Simon Press, Exhibition Director,
says that the exhibition is an ideal platform for the regional and international travel and tourism industry to showcase core tourism products and inbound and outbound tourism potential.

Press says that in 2007, the event saw the attendance of 22,000 visitors from 108 countries. More than 2,600 exhibitors from 62 countries drew this crowd to the
show. This is evidence of how important the UAE is both as a destination and as a market for the tourism industry.
It's not just travel and tour companies that have wised up to this fact.

Increased credit card usage by travellers to buy their tickets and shop have led banks to co-partner with travel companies and frequent flyer mile programmes to offer customers more benefits for using their credit cards. For instance, Citibank has a tie-up with Emirates, Emirates NBD has partnered
with DNATA and ABN Amro has a smart traveller credit card.

All these credit cards are globally accepted and come with
rewards and benefits such as discounts and special offers and promotions - all of which are appealing to travellers.

In addition to international airlines that regularly offer holiday packages, local airlines and travel agencies also offer holiday packages that cover the Middle East, Far East, Europe and the Indian subcontinent.

These developments have definitely helped boost outbound tourism, and coupled with the UAE's increasing profile
as one of the Middle East's most exciting and safest places to holiday in will mean a higher turnover for the country's travel and tourism sector.