TOURISM

The UAE is now one of the world's fastest growing tourist destinations. Because of this, tourism occupies a very important role in the non-oil economy of the UAE. So much so that the November 2000 issue of the Journal of Emirates Industrial Bank estimates the contribution of tourism to the non-oil income of the country at 15 per cent.

Focus promotion worldwide has been a major factor in this success story. The impact of effective adversiting is nowhere more evident than in the enormous growth in hotel capacity, which has quadrupled in the 1990s.

The UAE's thriving hotel sector has earned it at least one entry in the Guinness Book of Records for 2001. Ever since its opening in 1999 the Burj al-Arab hotel has become an icon for all that is good about UAE's tourism industry. Inspired by the shape of an Arabian dhow's billowing sail, the tower, a marvel of modern engineering at 321 metres, is classified as the world's tallest hotel. It is also the world's only seven star hotel and offers a level of style, comfort and luxury that is genuinely in a class of its own. 

Each of the 202 duplex suites at Burj al-Arab has its own butler while the grand suites feature a cinema, rotating beds, 27 telephones (other suites have 14), an elevator linking the suite's two floors and large dressing rooms. The hotel's privte health and fitness facility was inspired by the Nabataean city of Petra in Jordan. The hotel's sky view restaurant, suspended 200 metres above the Arabian Gulf, offers a bird's eye view of the surrounding sea (the hotel is built on a man-made island) whilst a fish's perspective is offered by the underwater seafood restaurant with its unique windows into an aquatic world.

Whilst the Burj al-Arab represents the top of the scale, the UAE's tourism industry offers a range of facilities with many attractive holiday packages.

An estimated Dh 2.2 billion was spent on new tourism projects in Abu Dhabi in 2000. As part of this tourism development programme, Abu Dhabi National Hotels Company (ADNHC) commenced construction of a Dh 500 million entertainment city in Mussafah and expansion and renovation of the Abu Dhabi Sheraton Hotel, to be completed by October 2001 at a tota cost of Dh 100 million. ADNHC has also started work on the first phase for a tourist resort near the beach in Dibba al-Fujairah.

The hotels of the Emirates view with each other to present the best stage shows. Some of the biggest names in show business have performed before local audiences, including Tina Turner, Shirley Bassey, Cliff Richard and Tom Jones, as well as start from the Arab world, the Indian subcontinent and the East. Even the West End of London has been transported to the UAE in the form of dinner-theatre featuring stage comedies complete with well-known actors. The Cultural Foundation in Abu Dhabi and similar centres in Dubai and Sharjah have also provided venues for many film festivals and cultural performances such as the Vienna State Orchestra and the Bolshoi Ballet.

The large number of business guests from many parts of the world and the fact that the UAE's residents are part of a multi-cultural society has encouraged the hotel industry to develop a sophisticated and innovative gastronomic experience, provided by some of the finest restaurants in the Middle East. They offer a dazzling array of haute cuisine prepared by world-class chefs who have adapted the indigenous cuisine to the requirements of the modern catering industry. The wonderful mezze tables of Lebanon now grace its restaurants while great exponents of the culinary arts such as Escoffier and Freon have worked in the kitchens of local five-star hotels. Both within and outside the hotels, a variety of restaurants tantalise diners with offerings from practically all the 70 ethnic communities that make their home in the Emirates. While most hotels obtain the greater part of their custom from the business community, others have concentrated on the leisure market, making full use of their beach facilities and marinas to attract both domestic and foreign tourists.

Life for a tourist does not remain confined to hotels. The whole of the UAE is a shopper's paradise. Its open economy means that there are bargains galore in the suqs and shopping malls that are stocked with an impressive array of consumer goods and durables, imported with a minimum of customs duty from all over the world. The ultra-modern shopping malls and high-class multi-storeyed department stores are magnets for residents and visitors alike. Prices are extremely competitive since most traders aim for high turnovers on small margins and shoppers spend many happy hours hunting for bargins.

Browsing in the curio shops in the Khalidiya area of Abu Dhabi, the old suq in Sharjah, or the gold market in Dubai is a special pleasure. Old handmade rugs can be found side by side with coffee-pots made of hand-beaten copper from Hadramaut, tea-chests and Khanjars (traditional daggers) from Muscat and Salalah, along with competitively priced gold jewellery in a delightfully crime-free environment.

Discerning visitors also discover another unique treasure - that of Arab hospitality with an old world charm. Traditional shopkeepers sit their clients down on a cushion, offer a cup of the best Arabic coffee and ask what their guest thinks of the wares on display. Bargaining follows, with patience and without rancour, and almost invariably ends in a transaction that pleases both buyer and seller.