Dubai Lifestyle News
Dubai ‘is a safe haven for investors’
Corporations from across the Gulf still see Dubai as a safe place to invest their money and set up new bases, it has been claimed.Nicholas Bortman, head of Middle East research for business consultancy GPW, believes the city continues to benefit from the troubles that have affected a number of Arab countries, Al Jazeera reports.Investors and tourists generally prefer the stability of Dubai over volatile places like Egypt and Bahrain.”There are no exact numbers, but there is little doubt that there has been a lot of movement of firms from Arab Spring countries to Dubai,” Mr Bortman was quoted as saying.”Particularly for regional investors, Dubai is a safe haven.”Ahmed Kanna, professor of anthropology at the University of the Pacific agreed that Dubai has been “one of the biggest victors” from the Arab Spring and that people generally regard the emirate as the go-to place when things start to get out of hand in their own lands.The UAE's economy expanded by 4.4 per cent in 2012, which was the strongest performance seen since 2006 and this was streets ahead of most European nations.Dubai's construction industry has recovered well from the global economic downturn of 2008-09 and people from all over the world are securing property investments in the city.In fact, the Dubai Land Department confirmed in April that 32 properties were registered every hour during the first quarter of 2013 – a 63 per cent increase when compared with the corresponding months in 2012.Overall, deals worth a staggering AED 44 billion (£7.7 billion) were completed over the three-month period.Much of the upturn has been attributed to significant growth in the tourism sector and figures recently provided by Dubai Airports highlighted a massive rise in the number of people flying into the emirate.Indeed, some 66 million passengers are predicted to travel into Dubai International Airport throughout 2013 and tourism chiefs are confident that wealthy holidaymakers will spend more money in the city, thus boosting the economy even further. Continue reading
Is Amir Khan set to appear in Dubai?
Boxing promoters are lining up a major fight between Amir Khan and Devon Alexander in Dubai.Chief executive of Golden Boy Richard Schaefer told the Daily Mail that he will head out to the Middle East to cast his eye over potential venues for the bout between the British and American welterweights.Dubai is becoming a major player in the world of sport and securing the rights to host such a high-profile boxing match would only increase the city's stature.Khan – who competed in the Olympic Games before turning professional – is one of the hottest properties in global boxing at the moment and he hopes to eventually get a shot at the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Junior, who is widely considered to be one of the best pound-for pound fighters of all time.However, the 26-year-old must first overcome Alexander, which will be no easy task.Mr Schaefer suggested that Khan and Alexander will battle it out for the IBF world welterweight title on December 7th.”We have opened discussions with the ruling family of the [United Arab Emirates] who have made it very clear that they are keen to put on a major boxing event,” he was quoted as saying.”This is very exciting for Amir and all of us. If he defeats Devon, preferably in style, the next step for him would be against Floyd.”Dubai is also set to host its first major boxing match later this month, when Chinese star Xiong Zhao Zhong defends his WBC Straw-weight title against the Philippines' Denver Cuello.The encounter will take place at the Dubai World Trade Centre on June 28th and it will be broadcast to millions of viewers around the world.This will certainly be an intriguing bout, as boxing experts have high hopes for Cuello, who has been likened to fellow countryman Manny Pacquiao.Rumours had been floating around that Pacquiao himself was being lined up for a money-spinning fight in the UAE in late 2013.Although nothing has yet been agreed, the Filipino superstar has confirmed that he is looking for venues outside the US and his team suggested that Dubai is an option. Continue reading
Dubai hotel occupancy hit 89.6% in Jan
Occupancy rates across Dubai’s top end hotels reached an average of 89.6 percent in January, according to TRI Hospitality Consulting, representing an increase of 4.2 percentage points compared to a year ago. The HotStats MENA report, which collates occupancy across four and five-star properties, found that average room rates in the glitzy emirate also rose 5 percent to US$359.39. Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) was up 10.2 percent to US$321.85. January typically sees a rise in the number of guests staying in Dubai’s hotels, TRI said, due to the annual Dubai Shopping Festival, whose retail bargains entices out-of-town visitors to the city. “This mega-event offers a perfect start to the year for the tourism establishments in the city, and helps bridge the gap between the end of year holidays and European winter breaks,” said Peter Goddard, managing director at TRI Hospitality Consulting. The report found that properties in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi were also able to capitalise from the overspill of guests visiting Dubai for the shopping festival, as hotels registered a 10.8 percentage point increase in occupancy to 71.7 percent during January. Despite this, average room rates continued to fall, sliding 10.7 percent during the month to US$167.77. “Despite stronger demand, hotels in the capital have failed to capitalise these events to improve top line performances, simply due to the competition,” Goddard added. Elsewhere in the region, hotels in Kuwait saw a 6.1 percentage point increase in occupancy rates to 58 percent on an upswing in corporate and leisure demand. Popular Egyptian resort Sharm El Sheikh witnessed a strong recovery in demand compared to last year, when the repercussions of the Arab Spring political unrest dampened the number of tourist visitors. In January 2013, occupancy was up 9.3 percentage points to 57.2 percent. Egypt’s capital Cairo saw occupancy improve 5.9 percentage points to 43.7 percent. Continue reading
