Places to see in United Arab Emirates
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi emirate was little known as a tourist destination until the discovery of oil financed its major development programme. A thoroughly modern infrastructure of air and sea ports, highways, telecommunications systems, five-star hotels, restaurants and entertainment complexes has turned the emirate into an active tourist center. Dubbed the Garden City of the Gulf, Abu Dhabi now offers visitors a variety of options ranging f rom green parks, clean beaches, a range of marine and other sports, exotic adventures in the desert, or the pleasure of shopping in its diverse shopping centers and malls. Tourists can also pay a visit to the oasis city of Al Ain and enjoy a sightseeing tour to archaeological and leisure sites such as Al Hili Fun City, Ain Al Faydha Resort, Al Jahili Fort or the National Museum. In 1997 some 937,717 people from neighboring countries visited Abu Dhabi.
Al Futaisi Golf and Country Club
Tourist development in Abu Dhabi is ongoing and many new projects are under way. One imaginative scheme is Al Futaisi Golf and Country Club’s plan to transform Al Futaisi Island off Abu Dhabi into one of the UA E ’s most popular tourist resorts. The Club already has a restaurant, tent village, 18-hole golf course, horse riding track, beautiful beaches and a swimming pool. Forty luxurious chalets are being built and the island, which covers 45 square kilometers, is to have several species of local and migratory birds, sand gazelles, turtles, and horses, and is a haven for nature lovers.
Dubai
Independent studies show that the tourism industry has accounted for a steadily increasing percentage of Dubai’s GDP, with some estimates putting it as high as 20 per cent. In fact tourism is expected to over take oil exports as an important source of revenue in the near future. Dubai’s 255 hotels have a total of 17,253 rooms and occupancy in 1998 a veraged 49.3 per cent. Since January 1997 when the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (D TCM) took over from the Tourism and Trade Promotion Council, there has been renewed focus on worldwide promotion of Dubai as an ideal tourist destination and a thriving commercial center. This has involved setting up the DTCM representative offices in many countries across the globe as well as participation in numerous international tourism fairs. In addition, the DTCM has launched very successful advertising campaigns worldwide. The DTCM also organizes tourism-related exhibitions in Dubai. Early in 1999 it hosted the Arabian Marine Tourism Conference, the first of its kind to be held in the region. In May more than 500 exhibitors from 40 countries participated in the Arab Travel Market 99, which was also held under the auspices of the DTCM. Not surprisingly, since the number of tourists is expected to reach three million by the end of the year 2000, Dubai has a number of major tourism-related projects coming on-stream.
Al Maha
The endangered Arabian oryx is one of the showpieces of what is billed as the first ecotourism project in the UAE. The oryx also lends its Arabic name ‘Al Maha’ to the new resort, a luxury desert hideout and nature reserve. Al Maha resort, which opened its doors to its first guests in March 1999, is also home to other wildlife, such as gazelles, Arabian foxes and small cats, which have been reintroduced to the region, along with indigenous grasses and other flora. The resort, wholly-owned by Emirates Airline, lies 45 minutes by four-wheel drive car from Dubai airport. Covering about 25 square kilometers, it is surrounded by an electrified perimeter fence to keep the more exotic wildlife in and the camels which roam freely in the Arabian desert out. There sort consists of a main reception area and 30 suites which can house a total of 66 guests. Tented roofs and predominant use of ‘arish or palm fronds for fencing and ceilings are intended to evoke traditional bedouin camps, although the living conditions are rather more luxurious than those to which the original desert nomads would have been accustomed. The Emirates Group is planning two more five-star properties in the UAE. One of the luxury properties will be a 200-room hotel in the Emirate of Fujairah (see below) while the other will be located in Hatta.
Arabian Tower
Another major tourism project recently completed is the soaring 52-storey Arabian Tower, with its huge atriums, colossal supporting cross braces and acres of double glazing and aluminium cladding rising 321 metres from a concrete base on the seabed off Jumeirah beach. The impressive dhow sail-shaped building, the world’s tallest hotel, contains 202 luxurious two-storey suites and a restaurant with spectacular views of Dubai. The hotel is part of a complex which includes the award-winning 26-storey Jumeirah Beach Hotel, the 40,000 square metre Wild Wadi Park (see below), conference facilities, a marina, sports center, beach restaurant, tennis courts and a variety of swimming pools.
