Dubai Property News
DTCM chiefs outline ambitious tourism plans
Leaders of Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) have outlined ambitious plans that are aimed at boosting the number of people visiting the emirate.Chief executive officer of strategy and tourism sector development at the DTCM Dr Ahmad Belhoul told Emirates 24/7 that money spent by holidaymakers currently accounts for five per cent of the city's gross domestic product and he is hoping this will reach double figures by 2020.Although 66 million people are expected to fly into Dubai International Airport throughout 2013, many of this number will be business travellers or merely stopping over on long-haul flights to places like Australia.Dr Belhoul hopes that a wave of exciting new projects – such as the Al Fahidi historical district redevelopment – will encourage more people to stay in the emirate. He is targeting 20 million annual visitors in the next seven years.”The average tourist in Dubai spends [between] $250 and $300 (£164 and £197) per day, with annual income generated at AED 600 million (£107 million). Our plan is to increase this number to AED 840 million by 2015,” he was quoted as saying.In order to reach its target, the DTCM is looking to diversify Dubai's tourism offerings, giving visitors a lot more to explore.Mr Belhoul continued: “In the past, the core strength in tourism has been beach holidays, shopping and sightseeing. To hit the 20 million tourist figure, we are looking at different targets where gaps remain.”The emirate will focus particularly closely on promoting sports and heritage trips and a lot of emphasis is being placed on cultural tourism too.Numerous studies have shown that Dubai is already an immensely popular place to take a holiday and the city was recently hailed as the leading destination in the Middle East at the prestigious World Travel Awards.The emirate will also benefit from the plethora of brand new upmarket hotels and resorts that are being built throughout the area. Continue reading
Emirates secures shirt sponsorship deal with Real Madrid
Emirates – one of the fastest growing airlines in the world – has announced a massive shirt sponsorship deal with Spanish giants Real Madrid.The company, which has played a major part in helping Dubai International Airport to become the second busiest on the planet, confirmed that its logo will appear on the team's famous white shirts for the next five seasons.Indeed, some of the world's best players, including Portuguese sensation Cristiano Ronaldo, Spanish defender Sergio Ramos and German international Mesut Ozil will have 'Fly Emirates' written on their chest during training sessions and when they play in matches.This is the latest in a long line of lucrative football sponsorship arrangements for Emirates, as it has already struck deals with Arsenal, Paris Saint Germain, Hamburg, Olympiacos and AC Milan.As part of the Real Madrid tie-up, the airline will benefit from more high-profile branding at the club's Santiago Bernabeu stadium.Emirates had already nurtured a strong relationship with the Madrid side, but chairman and chief executive of the organisation Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said this announcement takes the partnership “to a whole new level”.”Aligning ourselves with an international powerhouse like Real Madrid helps to amplify our brand message by creating more meaningful connections with sports fans around the world,” he remarked.”In this case, we are engaging with one of the largest fan-bases in the world.”There is no doubting Real Madrid's pedigree and they are undeniably the most successful club in Europe.Not only have they won 32 La Liga titles and 18 Spanish 'Copa del Rey' trophies, they have also lifted the European Cup on a record nine occasions.The club will remain under the spotlight in the coming months, as current coach Jose Mourinho looks set to leave and there has been plenty of debate about his successor, with Paris Saint Germain manager Carlo Ancelotti said to be one of the favourites.Madrid have also been heavily linked with a move for Liverpool striker Luis Suarez in the last few days.Regardless of what happens, there is little doubt that the link between Emirates and one of the biggest football clubs on earth will be great PR for Dubai. Continue reading
Dubai apartment rents rose in Q1, report shows
The incredible demand for luxurious apartments in Dubai enabled landlords in most parts of the city to increase their rents in the first quarter of 2013.A new report by Bayt.com suggested that people are falling over themselves to rent out plush apartments in exclusive areas and this is playing right into the hands of savvy property investors.Downtown Dubai is still one of the most popular regions and landlords have had no trouble finding long-term tenants who are willing to pay a premium to live in such a nice part of the sheikhdom.Indeed, the average rent on a studio apartment in Downtown Dubai rose by 2.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2013, while the asking price for one and two-bedroom properties went up by 4.2 per cent and 4.7 per cent respectively.Unsurprisingly, the Palm Jumeirah has also proven to be a hotspot for property investment in recent months and this latest report explains why this is the case.Rental prices soared by an astonishing 27 per cent year-on-year and this was mainly attributed to the strong demand coming from high-earning expatriates.The Dubai Marina is also as popular as ever, although rent increases have plateaued slightly due to the sheer number of beautiful new buildings being erected in the area. That said, demand is still robust and investors can expect to see rental rates go up again in the near future.According to Bayt.com, the villa market also performed very well in the first quarter of 2013, with sale and rental prices on the up.As such, it is no real shock that Knight Frank recently included Dubai among its top five real estate markets on the planet.It stated that only Jakarta, Bangkok and Miami could compete with the emirate when it came to property price hikes, as the value of luxurious buildings in Dubai rose by an impressive 18.3 per cent between March 2012 and the same month this year.The First Group can help you find apartments for sale in Dubai Continue reading
