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Dubai builds, tourists come
Dubai builds, tourists come Muaz Shabandri / 22 August 2013 Saudi Arabia and India topped the charts for sending the most tourists to Dubai in the first half of this year as a new report by Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) revealed record-breaking figures. More than 5.5 million tourists visited Dubai from January to June this year, representing an increase of 11.1 per cent over the previous year. Director-General of DTCM Helal Saeed Almarri said: “The figures for the first half of 2013 are extremely encouraging and indicate that we are on the way to achieving our Tourism Vision for 2020.” Visitors from UK, USA, Russia, Germany, Kuwait and Oman also made it to the list of top 10 nationalities visiting Dubai for tourism. “Saudi Arabia, China and India are markets which DTCM has put significant focus on, as we believe they provide substantial opportunities for growth. DTCM has conducted a number of roadshows, participated in a range of events and operated specific campaigns in these markets to ensure that Dubai is positioned as a destination of choice,” added Almarri. With more than 710,000 guests coming from Saudi alone, hotel occupancy is expected to increase even further as the Eid festive season will be accounted for. “Our strategy is to position Dubai as a foremost destination for both leisure and business travellers by continuously evolving our broad and diverse tourism offering, and attracting visitors from a range of source markets, including targeting a new generation of first-time travellers from emerging markets,” he said. Hotel room occupancy averaged 84.6 per cent over the six-month period, up 2.8 per cent from 81.8 per cent in the first half of 2012, while the occupancy rate for hotel apartments was 85.8 per cent, up 6.5 per cent from 79.3 per cent in H1 2012. A total of 16 new hotels opened their doors this year, with new hotel openings including the JW Marriott Marquis, Oberoi Hotel Dubai, and JA Ocean View Hotel, all of which broaden Dubai’s hotel offering. The average length of stay for tourists was 3.89 days. In 2012, the UAE gained $10.4bn from tourism revenue. Dubai’s Tourism Vision for 2020 sets out how the city expects to double its annual visitor numbers from 10 million in 2012 to 20 million in 2020. The city’s success in attracting more tourists has been attributed to the development of world-class facilities, with Dubai International Airport recording the second highest traffic in the world. Major concerts and world-level sporting events have also played a big part in bringing new visitors to Dubai. In terms of events, Dubai hosted some of the world’s top acts in the including Justin Bieber’s first concert in the Middle East, Cirque du Soleil and the all-star line-up of Amr Diab, Shamma Hamdan and Hussain Al Jassmi as part of the du world Music Festival. Events such as the Dubai Shopping Festival, Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, Dubai World Cup, and Summer Is Dubai, including Dubai Summer Surprises, have all contributed towards the growth in visitor numbers. Revenues for hoteliers and hotel apartment operators saw significant growth — with total first half revenues reaching Dh11.62billion ($3.18bn) up by 18.6 per cent. Area Director of Sales & Marketing at Kempinski Nasser Fawzi, confirmed the positive trends as he said: “We have seen a good occupancy increase this year over last year. We are around the 79 to 80 per cent which is approximately 5 per cent increase over last year.” Dubai’s status as the region’s leading Meetings Incentives Conferences and Events (MICE) hub has also played a central role in boosting first half visitor numbers. “Dubai and UAE in general have seen an increase of business and one of the reasons is the diversion of business from Egypt. However, we all know that the business segment of 5-star hotels in Egypt is not exactly the same in Dubai. Hence, the overflow goes mainly to 4-star or lower categories, which positively effect the 5-star categories. Additionally, many companies are shifting their meetings from Egypt to UAE which results in an increase,” said Nasser. Major business events held during the first six months of 2013 include Arab Health, Gulfood, GITEX Shopper, Arabian Travel Market, and Intersec. – muaz@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Expert: 2013 Ohio Farmland Value Projected To Increase
Cropland values in Ohio increased in 2012 and are expected to continue on an upward trend in 2013 despite the drought that devastated growers this year. December 12, 2012 Cropland values in Ohio increased in 2012 and are expected to continue on an upward trend in 2013, despite the drought that devastated growers this year, an Ohio State University Extension expert said. Ohio cropland value rose 13.6% this year, with bare cropland averaging $5,000 an acre, said Barry Ward, production business management leader for OSU Extension. Ward, citing statistics from the Ohio Agriculture Statistics Service, expects the trend to continue next year, with “projected budgets for Ohio’s primary crops for 2013 showing the potential for strong profits.” This is true, he said, in spite of the drought of 2012, which devastated growers and producers across the country, particularly in the Midwest including Ohio. “We’re expecting the potential for profitability (next year) with corn looking like it will be king again,” Ward said. “We’ll have farmers with strong balance sheets, which will drive land values as well. “With those strong balance sheets in spite of the drought, many farmers will continue to be in the land buying mode.” Ward spoke last week during Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences kickoff of its 2013 Agricultural Policy and Outlook series. The event initiates a series of county meetings to be held statewide next year. Dates and times for the meetings will be announced at a later date. OSU Extension is the outreach arm of the college. The December 3 event featured presentations from experts from the college’s Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics (AEDE), who discussed issues the food and agricultural community should expect in 2013, including information on policy changes, key issues and market behavior with respect to farm, food and energy resources, and the environment. Because of the moderate to severe drought conditions many growers experienced, profit margins were highly variable, said Ward, who is also an AEDE assistant extension professor. But crop insurance proceeds will alleviate some of the revenue shortfall and financial stress due to the drought Ward said, noting that the last five year period has resulted in “some of the most profitable years in the last 50 years of crop production.” “With many dollars and buyers chasing farmland, it isn’t surprising to see land values increase substantially in 2012,” Ward said. “Crop profitability along with low interest rates have been the primary drivers in the run-up in cropland values.” Depending on land production capabilities, returns to land are projected to be $204 to $489 per acre for Ohio corn next year, he said. Returns to Land for soybeans are projected to be $102 to $295, with Returns to Land for wheat projected at $122 to $288, Ward said. The projections are based on OSU Extension Ohio Enterprise Budgets, and assume current prices of inputs and present December and September and November 2013 forward contract prices, respectively, he said. OSU Extension has a long history of developing enterprise budgets that can be used as a starting point for producers in their budgeting process. Farmers can find enterprise budgets for 2013 here . The Website is offered by Ohio State University’s AEDE. The budgets are downloadable Excel spreadsheets. Users can input their production and price levels to calculate their numbers. The budgets feature color-coded cells that allow users to plug in numbers to easily calculate bottom lines for different scenarios. Source: Ohio Ag Connection Continue reading
Romania Doubled Its Food Production In 2012
According to the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the deficit of Romania’s trade balance, as regards foodstuffs, stood at some 745 million Euros in 2012, almost double as compared to the previous year. Last year, Romania imported over 6 million tons of foodstuffs, reporting a 6% increase as compared to 2011. Imports exceeded 4.65 billion Euros, that is by 372 million Euros more than the previous year. Last year, exports of foodstuffs exceeded 7.9 million tons and the amount of money that was cashed in exceeded 3.9 billion Euros, the same level registered in 2011. Maize and wheat exports brought in most revenues, totalling 1.14 billion Euros. In 2012, the same foodstuffs ranked first in terms of imports, just like in the previous years, namely sugar-286 million Euros, followed closely by pork meat with 259 million Euros and maize with 191 million Euros. The European Union was Romania’s main agricultural trade partner, both in terms of distribution and purchase of foodstuffs. However, in the first part of the year, Romania’s meat exports were affected by the horsemeat scandal, mislabelled in other countries as beef. The president of the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority, Vladimir Manastireanuhas further details: Vladimir Manastireanu: “We managed to reject all accusations that had been levelled against Romania and Romanian producers. The accusations were brought against us initially by France, as you well know, then by Germany and later on by Greece. During all our talks held in Brussels, at the meeting of the heads of veterinary services, as well as in Dublin, during private talks with colleagues and partners in France and other member states, we reiterated the idea and wish that such situations be disclosed to the press only when we know for sure if and what state is responsible for the mislabelling. Actually, this was also the general conclusion we drew after each of the meetings. Otherwise, we find ourselves in unjust situations, when ungrounded accusations are being made, just like in our case. No one issued an official apology after Romania was cleared of all accusations, and the only effect produced by the scandal was a huge export deficit of the Romanian food industry.” According to Vladimir Manastireanu, over a very short period of time Romania has produced evidence that the country’s veterinary services are doing their job and fully observe the entire European and national legislation. At the same time, the Romanian official believes the line industry is a serious one, and that it labels correctly the meat it supplies to the European market and not only. In spite of this, beef and horsemeat exports have plummeted by more than 20% following the mislabelling scandal, as Romanian producers say. One of the largest Romanian producers and exporters of horsemeat and beef on the European market, Iulian Cazacut, has put forth a series of proposals meant to redress the situation following this scandal. These include a meat exchange, which should function under the authority of the Agriculture Ministry, and the opening of new markets, which call for greater transparency of the supply and demand prices, as well as of the meat origin. Iulian Cazacut: Iulian Cazacut: “First of all, the rules regulating the operations of a meat exchange should be set, because if they are officially established, they must be observed and the Agriculture Ministry could supervise the accuracy of the data operated by a meat exchange.” However, producers seem to foresee some new opportunities. Iulian Cazacut: Iulian Cazacut: “We want to make the best of the moment and capitalise on its positive aspects. In a first phase, we had to defend ourselves, to show the world that we did nothing wrong, but respected and observed all regulations and standards. Currently, we are interested in direct communication with each and every customer and partner. We are further investing in the development of producers’ brands, it is the centrepiece of all our strategies. We can deliver safe meat, of controlled origin, on the market. We would like to see Romanian producers receive further support in order to enjoy access to international markets.” It is also worth mentioning that the Romanian food industry is in the focus of attention of foreign investors. In October 2010, the French company Sofiproteol took over the food grade oil producer Expur Urziceni, which had been controlled by the Swiss group Alimenta. The value of the transaction stood at some 80 million Euros. Other companies active on the oil market are the American firms Bunge and Cargill. One of the best-known companies which produce and sell rice is the Italian group Riso Scotti. Foreign investors are also interested in the meat industry. In 2004 the American company Smithfield Foods purchased the former pig farm Comtim in Timisoara and intends to take the volume of investments in Romania to a total of 850 million dollars. Also, in early 2007 the German sausage producer Reinert inaugurated a meat processing unit in Feldioara, Brasov County. Other food companies active in Romania are the firm Hame from the Czech Republic, the Norwegian group Orkla and the group Nestle. Some other firms operating on the dairy market are the group La Dorna, which was taken over by the French consortium Lactalis in 2008, the French company Danone, the Dutch companies Friesland and Campina as well as Hochland from Germany. balkans Continue reading
