Dubai Property News
Dubai set to host video game convention
Dubai is set to host the IGN Convention – the biggest video game, gadget and comic book event in the Middle East – at the start of next month.Held at the Meydan Imax, organisers of the gathering are expecting up to 7,000 gamers to show up, Gulf News reports.The event will be heaven for anybody who has a passion for games consoles, with Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 tournaments being staged across the two days. Those who reach the finals will be able to show off their skills on the venue's incredible Imax screen.Abbas Jaffar Ali – director of the convention – told the news provider that being able to play on this monstrous screen is a real incentive for gamers to perform well.”Imagine playing Fifa or your favourite combat game on the biggest screen in Asia,” he was quoted as saying.Mr Ali also confirmed that a number of new titles would be launched for the first time at the event, although he was unwilling to go into too much detail.”Sony Playstation are going to be there, and I don't want to steal their thunder in making that announcement,” he added.A number of people dressed as popular video game characters will be roaming around the exhibition, including Wolverine, Lara Croft, Batman and Darth Vader. Former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Kevin Nash will also make a guest appearance.Visitors will be able to get some unique insight into the video game industry, as a number of designers and developers will be on hand to answer questions.This is one of many high-profile conventions set to take place in Dubai this year.The city is renowned for staging international exhibitions and conferences and the government hopes this vital experience will stand the city in good stead when organisers of the World Expo 2020 decide on a host venue.Events of this nature give the UAE's hospitality sector a real boost, with people flying into the country from all over the world. Continue reading
Why Dubai’s Hotel Classification Scheme is so important
A senior figure at Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has explained why a new Hotel Classification Scheme could be so important to the city's hospitality sector.Majid Al Marri told Hoteliermiddleeast.com the system will give people a better idea about the quality of resorts across the region.Dubai is renowned for its multitude of glamorous hotels and it seems that more investors are now pouring money into the emirate's hospitality sector.Like many other parts of the world, Dubai was badly affected by the economic downturn and some developers were forced to shelve plans to build new hotels in the sheikhdom.However, many of these projects have been resurrected in the last 12 months and there are some impressive structures starting to emerge in popular areas like Dubai Marina and the Palm Jumeirah. Mr Al Marri said the Hotel Classification Scheme introduces new categories for university campuses and hostels, while also providing a new buffer between standard and luxury accommodation.”We found there was a gap in this area, which is why there is also a new category for serviced apartments,” he was quoted as saying.The law was first introduced in 1998 and this latest update is aimed at increasing transparency across the sector, thus allowing visitors to see which resorts offer the best facilities.Mr Al Marri said there are 18 new “designators” – including optional extras like rooms with a sea view or spa and wellness services – which hotels can add to their rating.This, he added, will help hotels to market themselves and will ultimately aid the DTCM in its quest to attract 20 million tourists to the city annually by 2020.It is certainly a good time for investors to add Dubai-based hotels, apartments and villas to their property portfolios, as the demand for accommodation in the emirate has soared in recent months.In fact, Mastercard recently hailed Dubai as a “city to watch” in the coming years, with more and more people expected to take a holiday in the city in the near future. Continue reading
Emaar eyes tower even taller than Burj Khalifa
Emaar Properties is considering building another world-record breaking tower bigger than its own Burj Khalifa, which is the current holder of the world’s tallest building, according to its chairman Mohamed Alabbar. “We may try to build something a little taller,” Alabbar said at a conference in Dubai. “The emirate needs another tall building. Dubai is only about 30-year old, so we have a lot of time and lot of investment left,” he added. Emaar Properties built the 828-metre Burj Khalifa tower in 2010 and is also involved in the Kingdom Tower, which is being developed by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal and is under construction in Jeddah. The Saudi tower is reportedly set to be as high as 1km tall. Already the holder of the world’s tallest building title, the new plans Alabbar has hinted at would have appeared fanciful three years ago, when a crash in the inflated real estate market triggered a corporate debt crisis and a slew of company restructurings. But Dubai, home to an archipelago of man-made islands and an indoor ski slope in one of its shopping malls, staged a dramatic economic recovery last year, partly because of a tourism boom. Tourist arrivals grew 10 percent and hotel revenue rose 19 percent in the first half of 2012. Some state-linked companies have been working through their debt loads while some property prices have started to rebound. Continue reading
