Johann Wolgang von Goethe wrote: “Plunge boldly into the thick of life, and seize it where you will, it is always interesting.”
These words are a fitting mantra to the audacious business and cultural programmes the UAE has undertaken in its 41-year history, and this is nowhere more manifest than the burgeoning outdoor adventure lifestyle the country has forged into its social landscape.
Whether it’s jumping out of an aircraft at 1,500 metres and spiralling downwards towards the iconic Palm Jumeirah at terminal velocity, scaling the fissured Hajjar Mountains or sandboarding across the largest desert plain on earth, the UAE today offers the outdoor adrenalin junkie fixes aplenty.
“The explorer gene quite clearly exists in the UAE. The country is home to a mix of people who are looking for new challenges and who have severed home ties and want to take chances,” says Pete Aldwinckle, General Manager of Global Climbing.
From the days of pearling and camel racing, which ingrained a sense of exploration and competition in the Emirati populace, a phoenix of sports and adventure pursuits has risen across the Emirates’ landscape.
As the UAE’s tourism and commercial industries have flourished, a myriad of expats have flocked to our shores and brought the outdoor sporting ethos with them.
Today you can sandboard, paraglide, dragon boat race, skydive, cave and climb your way across the country with various tour operators and specialist outdoor adventure companies. “From here, the industry will only grow,” says Sam Whittam, Founder and General Manager of Adventure HQ.
He says the UAE is the perfect playground for adventure activities. “The mountains, beaches and desert dunes are all within an hour or two of each other and their ease of accessibility is what makes this part of the world ideal for exploring and trying out new adventures.”
Suresh Lalgee, Chairman of adventure sport tour operator Desert Rangers, says sandboarding and quad biking have benefited greatly from the UAE’s ideal deserts. “Since we started operating in 2001, the popularity of desert-based extreme sports has increased hugely and the country has the potential to become the global hub for such activities.”
Adventurous spirit
SkyDive Dubai epitomises the reach and impact adventure activities are having, both regionally and internationally. “Skydiving is one of the most extreme sports the industry has to offer, so SkyDive Dubai initiated a new adventurous spirit in the region when we set up in 2009,” says Firas Al Jabri, Marketing and Protocol Director at SkyDive Dubai.
“There’s no skydiving drop zone in the world that provides a service so close to the major attractions of a city like Dubai. It’s an experience people travel to the UAE for.”
In just three and a half years, SkyDive Dubai has gone from working out of a tent to a major tourist attraction. “We’ve gone from operating five tandems a day to an average of 70 to 90 a day,” Dubai-born skydive enthusiast Al Jabri tells GN Focus.
Asked whether he is looking to expand the skydiving experience to other emirates, he says: “Why not? Yas Island, among other places, would be a great place to jump.”
The UAE’s extreme sport industry has come so far that SkyDive Dubai hosting the World Parachuting Championships Mondial this year. The UAE national team is competing against more than 1,400 of the world’s best skydivers. It is the first time the event has been held in the Middle East.“We’re planning to make SkyDive Dubai not just a hub for skydiving, but a hub for adventure sports,” Al Jabri explains.
Wind tunnels used for indoor skydiving are a major new phenomenon around the world. Competitions including the International Bodyflight Association’s Indoor Skydiving World Championships are pinning the discipline on the extreme sports map. And Al Jabri says SkyDive Dubai is developing the world’s best wind tunnels to tap this business and leisure segment.
Insiders say there’s been a huge increase in the uptake of adventure activities over the past three years. “Especially in the area of mountain biking and road cycling,” says Whittam. “And the other adventure activity that has taken off in the UAE and around the world is stand-up paddle boarding.”
Rock climbing is also a benchmark of the UAE’s adventure activity sector, says Aldwinckle, who has been climbing for 35 years — nine of which he has spent scaling the UAE’s various mountains and hills. “When I first started climbing in the UAE, the number of people climbing was very small. We knew everybody personally — it didn’t take the biggest text chain message to get everyone together in one location.
“Then, the vast majority of climbers were expatriates. Now, we’ve got a number of young Emiratis who have studied abroad and started climbing overseas and are now active climbers in the UAE. Their involvement is very encouraging for the local market.
“There are also a number of school programmes running now, introducing a younger generation to climbing,” Aldwinckle explains.
The future
Rabindranath Tagore, the Indian poet, said, “There are two kinds of adventurers: those who go truly hoping to find adventure and those who go secretly hoping they won’t.” For the UAE to continue raising the bar in extreme sports, Al Jabri calls for more government support. “It would be a good idea to open a sector to extreme sports that would be looked after by experts from within the industry to give it a governmental push.”
To compete with famous adventure sport hubs such as Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Canada, Whittam says the younger generations need to be encouraged by key industry players.
“Those of us in the outdoor industry must continue to get involved at the grass-roots level and engage the community to get out there. We must work together with the government to ensure there are safe and accessible areas for these adventurous activities,” he says.
