Dubai Property News
Dubai gears up for Fina World Junior Swimming Championships
The countdown is on to the Fina World Junior Swimming Championships, which will take place in Dubai between August 26th and 31st 2013.Speaking to the Khaleej Times, president of the UAE Swimming Association and head of the organising committee Ahmed Al Falasi suggested this year's event will be bigger and better than ever.”Now, we will set a new record. In the last edition, Fina had only 58 countries and 528 swimmers. We've reached 85, with 432 male and 365 female swimmers, along with 236 officials. We still expect five or six other countries to join the tournament too,” he was quoted as saying.This will be the fourth time the competition has been held, with previous versions being staged in Brazil, Mexico and Peru.The fact that such a prestigious event is taking place in the UAE is once again testament to the nation's growing status as a global sporting hub.Some of the most talented up-and-coming swimmers will compete at the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Sports Complex – a state-of-the-art venue that cost a staggering AED 1.1 billion (£199.5 million).It is certainly one of the finest sporting arenas in the Middle East and can accommodate 15,000 spectators.The Olympic-standard venue has already staged a number of high-profile events, including the Tenth Fina World Swimming Championships 2012 and Fina/Midea Diving World Series since 2012. It has also held the Fina/Arena Swimming World Cup Legs since 2011.Understandably, the Dubai Sports Council (DSC) is very proud of the facility and its ultra-modern architecture means the building fits in seamlessly with the other magnificent structures dotted across the city.DSC secretary general Dr Ahmed Al Sharif told the news provider the competition will add extra value to the events that have previously taken place in the emirate.He added that there has been a “huge development” in swimming in the UAE since 2011 and the people of Dubai now have greater awareness about such tournaments. Continue reading
Dubai International Airport continues to grow
Dubai International Airport continues to expand at an astonishing rate, with new figures showing that 5,418,946 passengers travelled into the facility in April alone.This was an increase of 18.7 per cent when compared with the corresponding month in 2012 and it is the ninth consecutive month that the aviation hub has posted double-digit growth. It is also the fifth successive month that more than five million people have used the airport.Taking April's impressive figures into account, the airport has now accommodated 21,905,363 visitors in 2013 to date, which is up by 16.3 per cent on the first four months of last year.Dubai has proven particularly popular among holidaymakers and businesspeople from India, the UK and Saudi Arabia in recent years and it was no surprise to see these three destinations accounting for the bulk of foreign visitors once again last month.Indeed, 672,557 people travelled to the city from India, while 419,053 UK residents also spent some time in this part of the Middle East. Some 405,695 Saudi Arabians made the short trip to Dubai during April too.Chief executive officer at Dubai Airports Paul Griffiths said the airport continues to expand to cater for the enormous demand for flights into and out of the UAE.”It is very clear that our growth rate has picked up and that should continue at a similar pace into the next quarter and beyond. Given the central role aviation plays in a country's gross domestic product, this also bodes well for the increasingly robust local economy,” he remarked.Dubai Airports rounded off a very successful week by landing two prizes at the Fifth Annual Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) HR Excellence Awards.The company scooped the Best Employee Engagement award and the firm's vice president of learning and development Samya Ketait received the HR Professional of the Year accolade.This prize-giving is aimed at rewarding organisations that have made an outstanding contribution towards developing HR across the GCC region. Continue reading
The Apprentice hopefuls head to Dubai
Fans of the popular BBC One reality TV show The Apprentice will be able to see the UAE in all its glory on tonight's (May 28th) episode.The 12 remaining candidates travelled to Dubai to take part in a special task that required them to purchase eight items for a new hotel that is currently being built in the Middle Eastern country.They had to buy the goods – which included a UAE flag in a specific size and a sago palm tree – for as little money as possible.Lord Alan Sugar wanted to see if the contestants had what it takes to conduct business in a different part of the world, but unfortunately some of the entrepreneurs came unstuck when they got their dimensions all wrong when buying the flag.Nick Hewer – Lord Sugar's right-hand man who oversees the candidates as they set about each task – explained what had happened.”Here in the land of the sand dune, the camel, and the Burj Al Arab, size really matters,” he remarked.”They came to buy a flag of a certain size, they got the size wrong, they got one the size of a napkin. Why? Because they weren't paying attention.”The overall winner of the show will have a unique opportunity to go into business with Lord Sugar himself and they must continue to prove themselves over the coming weeks.Producers of the programme said the two teams adopted different tactics, with one opting to scour Dubai's famous traditional souks while the other attempted to sniff out bargains at one of the city's mega malls.If nothing else, the show highlights the fact that Dubai is not only a global shopping hotspot, but a thriving business hub too.The episode is also likely to give viewers an insight into the emirate's stunning multi-million dollar hotels. More and more luxurious resorts are springing up across the city all the time and investors from all over the world are increasingly keen to pump money into Dubai's lucrative hospitality sector. Continue reading
