1

Development of Tourism in Dubai

HIS 640
Consumption Culture in the Middle East


Grace Chang Mazza







2

Introduction:
The World Tourism Organization (WTO), a United Nations agency, estimated that by the
end of 2012, one billion international tourists will have traveled the world. In 2011 international
tourism receipts surpassed $1 trillion
1
(UNWTO Tourism). However, the World Travel &
Tourism Council (WTTC) estimates that the direct economic impact of tourism to GDP is closer
to $2 trillion and the industry generated 98 million jobs worldwide. Furthermore, taking account
tourisms direct
2
, indirect
3
, and induced impacts
4
, the WTTC estimates that tourism contributed
over $6 trillion to global GDP (9% of total), 255 million jobs (1 in 12 jobs), and $743BN in
investments (5% of total) (Economic Impact).

Overview of Middle East Tourism Industry
Specifically in the Middle East
5
, overall growth in number of tourists for 2012 is
estimated to be -1%, which is up from a decline of 7% in 2011 due to the political turmoil and
instability in the region (International Tourism). The Middle East as a whole earned $46BN
from tourism receipts in 2011 (UNWTO Tourism). For the United Arab Emirates (UAE),
tourism directly contributed to around 6.5% of GDP in 2011, with total contributions, including
direct, indirect, and induced, accounting for 13.5% of GDP. From an employment standpoint,
tourism directly supported 166,000 jobs (4.6% of total employment) and its total contribution to

1
Unless otherwise noted, all currencies are reported in US dollars.
2
As defined by the WTTC, direct contribution to GDP is GDP generated by industries that deal directly with
tourists, including hotels, travel agents, airlines and other passenger transport services, as well as the activities of
restaurant and leisure industries that deal directly with tourists (WTTC).
3
As defined by the WTTC, indirect contribution to GCP is capital investment spending by all sectors involved in the
travel and tourism industry, general government spending in support of general tourism activity, and the purchases
of domestic goods and service by different sectors of the tourism industry as inputs into their outputs (WTTC).
4
As definted by the WTTC, induced contribution is the broader contribution to GDP and employment of spending
by those who are directly or indirectly employed by Travel & Tourism (WTTC).
5
The Middle East refers to: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, Syria, UAE, and Yemen.
3

employment was 388,000 jobs (10.7%). The UAE invested almost $28BN in the travel and
tourism industry in 2011 and ranked ninth worldwide in terms of total capital invested tourism.
(WTTC)
Within the Middle East, the UAE accounted for
nearly 33% of travel and tourism demand most of that
is reflected in the number of visitors arriving in Dubai.
Dubai, in fact receives the largest number of visitors of
any Arab destination apart from Egypt. With notable
exceptions, the region remains relatively undeveloped
as a tourist destination, receiving only a fraction of
global tourist arrivals and global receipts. In 2011,
Dubai had an estimated 8MM tourist arrivals and
international receipts of $9.2BN (UNWTO
Tourism). As a whole, tourism in the UAE and
Dubai is dominated by tourists from the Middle East
and about 75% of tourists travel for leisure, while the
remainder travel for business (see charts at right).
Leisure travelers are heavily skewed towards Dubai as
the rest of the UAE is underdeveloped when it comes
to tourism. Outside of Dubai, tourism in the Middle East is not associated with leisure or
vacation travel and tends to be dominated by business or religious travel, specifically with regard
to Saudi Arabia. In most of the Middle East, international leisure tourism is either culturally
Middle
East
42%
Europe
26%
Asia
9%
USA
3%
Other
20%
UAE 2011 Arrivals by
Origin
Business
24%
Leisure
76%
UAE 2011 Arrivals by
Purpose of Visit
Source: Euromonitor 2012
Source: Euromonitor 2012
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undesirable or economically unnecessary because of large oil reserves (Sharpley 2008).
Moreover, political instability in various countries also presents a barrier to tourism development.
The UAE, and Dubai in particular, have been exceptions to other Middle Eastern
countries. The UAE put tourism at the core of its economic development plans in order to
diversify and strengthen its economy, while decreasing its dependency on fluctuating oil prices
(Sharpley 2008). The plans have been successful; in 2007, non-oil revenues contributed to 63%
of GDP, with Abu Dhabi and Dubai contributing 59% and 29%, respectively, to the UAEs total
GDP. What is more surprising is that due to Dubais push to use tourism to diversify its
economy, Dubai contributes over 80% of the non-oil related GDP in the UAE. Dubai is now
considered one of the top tourist destinations in the world. In 2011, Dubais top tourist source
markets outside the UAE were Saudi Arabia, India, UK, Iran, and the US (Guests). Ironically,
while tourism in the Middle East overall was negatively impacted by the Arab Spring, Dubai was
positively impacted in that tourists and business activities in other countries in the region were
diverted to Dubai (United Arab).

Source: Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing

0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Dubai Hotel Guests by Nationality (MM's)
Europe Asia Other AGCC Country UAE Other Arab Americas Africa (ex. Arab) Australasia & the Pacific
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Public Policy and Tourism
Based on tourisms impact on worldwide and regional GDP and employment, it is clear
that understanding how to plan for and develop the tourism industry can have many benefits and
should in fact be incorporated into a countrys public policy strategy. From a branding
perspective, the execution of destination branding has often been limited to the design and
development of logos (Balakrishnan 2008). A more encompassing strategy involving
implementation of public policies to facilitate trade and investment can produce far better results.
Balakrishnan discusses the importance of this strategy being focused, while still considering the
diversity of both internal and external stakeholder needs. Furthermore, in considering a
countrys tourism strategy, it is important to remember that destination loyalty (level of tourist
perceptions of a destination as a recommendable place) was significantly dependent on safety,
perceived cultural differences, and perceived convenience of transportation (Balakrishnan 2008).
As discussed later, Dubai serves as an example of how public policy can be used to successfully
shape the tourism industry.

Gastronomic Tourism
In developing a tourism strategy, it is important to remember the relationship between
food and tourism. Food is an important tourist attraction and can enhance or is central to the
visitor experience (Henderson 2009). Food is more than nourishment, it offers pleasure and
entertainment and serves a social purpose. It is also a key part of all cultures, a major element
of global intangible heritage and an increasingly important attraction for tourists (Richards
2012).
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There is a wide range of ways that tourists interact with food. Those that are more
serious can participate in organized activities like sampling and learning about food. This
interest, often labeled as culinary tourism, gastronomy tourism, or tasting tourism, also
incorporates that appreciation of beverages, both of the alcohol and non-alcoholic nature. On the
other end of the spectrum are tourists with a casual attitude towards food; however, even these
people need to decide what and where to eat when they are traveling. In the middle are those
who enjoy dining out and trying local cuisine when traveling for leisure or business. Others
enjoy watching the scenes at local markets or sampling and purchasing produce linked to the
destination. A visitors gastronomic experiences at their destination can also change their
consumption patterns when they return home due to the exposure of previously unknown
ingredients and cooking methods. (Henderson 2009)
What visitors want out of their food experience varies. As visitors become more
adventurous, many are looking for something genuine and authentic, which they believe can be
found in local foods and eating areas. The presence of locals and sharing space with them can be
viewed as a facet of tourism and a sign of authenticity, while establishments dominated by
tourists are shunned. At the same time, there is a trend towards standardization and
homogenization; tourists wary of unfamiliar environments -- where both the food and people are
foreign, prefer to frequent establishments they are familiar with. This has been one of the drivers
in the spread of fast food chains. Dubai has also seen this with the influx of American mid-
priced chain restaurants entering the market. As the world becomes more globalized and
governments plan their tourism strategy, as with other areas, governments need to find a balance
between both local and global to appeal to tourists. (Henderson 2009)
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Gastronomic experiences play a part in determining perceptions of and
satisfaction with the overall travel experience and food is agreed to
impinge on tourist attitudes, decisions and behavior. Food and wine can
be a very powerful influence on feelings of involvement and place
attachment and poor quality and service failure can impact negatively on
health, disrupting trips and tarnishing destination reputations (Henderson
2009).

Tourism in Dubai
Dubais History and Political-Economy
In the 1960s, the UAE could be described as barren coastlands largely populated by
nomadic tribes where the only occupations are fishing and pearling (Henderson 2006). Dubai
was one of the least developed countries in the world (Sharpley 2008).
Dubais then ruler, Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, led the charge to transform
Dubai from a barren coastland into the dreamworld of conspicuous consumption it is today
(Sharpley 2008). In the 1980s, oil production accounted for 2/3 of the countrys GDP, with
tourism limited to business travel. Ironically, Richard Sharpley attributes Dubais success in
diversifying away its economic reliance on oil through tourism to it being a rentier state, that is,
a state in which economic development and fiscal policy are based upon the rent gained from
the exploitation of natural resources. A particular characteristic to the rentier state is that the
generation and distribution of this rent or wealth is controlled by an elite or ruling minority. The
table on the next page summarizes the characteristics of a rentier state. Richard Sharpley argues
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that because of Dubais wealth from oil and also the authoritarian political structure, the emirate
was able to make and implement tourism and infrastructure policies that have a direct impact on
tourism in ways and achieve results that other countries with different political-economic
systems could not.

Source: Sharpley, 2008

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Dubais Tourism Policies
In 1966, Dubai accidentally discovered oil; however, unlike Abu Dhabi, whose oil
reserves are estimated to be sufficient for 100 years, Dubais reserves are expected to last no
more than a decade. As the second largest state in the UAE and in an effort to diversify its
reliance on oil, Dubai emerged as a service hub with shipping, financial and commercial services,
media, and tourism. It was ideally suited to serve this role, because of its strategic geographic
location at the confluence of the Middle East, Asia, Western Africa, and Central/Eastern Europe
(Balakrishnan 2008). Because of its location, Dubais initial commercial expansion, the
development of the Jebel Ali port, the worlds largest man-made port, was funded by the UAE.
In the 1990s, tourism was identified as a viable economic development option and
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum set a strategic vision for the emirate: tourism would
act as a catalyst for foreign direct investment and wider business development, rather than just
establishing a tourism industry. The emirate would market itself to business travelers in Western
Europe and neighboring Gulf countries. In order to be successful, this strategy was supported by
intense transport and infrastructure development, which included setting up the state-owned
Emirates Airlines and the Dubai Commerce and Tourism Protection Board (DCTPB), later
becoming the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM). The early role of the
DCTPB was to be a government agency responsible for promoting activities of various
organizations involved in tourism, including Emirates Airlines. During the initial phase, there
was already a focus on high-end, luxury facilities. The development of hotels also fell under the
purview of the government and as early as 1985, 26 out of the 42 hotels in the emirate were
classified as deluxe/ first-class. This initial strategy of marketing itself to business travelers was
highly successful, and led to a shift in focus to developing an entirely new tourism industry
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within the overall objective of developing Dubai as an international business and service hub as
defined by the 30-year development plan (Sharpley 2008). This new plan proposed three
phases of development:
Source: Sharpley, 2008
The first phase, lasting from 1996-2000, began with the creation of the DTCM to
establish a principal authority for the planning, supervision and development of tourism in the
emirate (Sharpley 2008). Unlike other developing countries, Dubai realized its lack of domestic
expertise and had the foresight to hire external consultants for long-term advisory positions,
rather than short term involvements. As part of their pro-tourism policies, the emirate enacted
liberal trade policies. They also allowed open skies transportation policies, allowing any
airline to fly through Dubai. In recognition of how the Middle Easts religious restrictions on
food and clothing could have a negative impact on its tourism and international economic
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development, Dubai removed dress code and alcohol consumption restrictions, becoming one of
the more liberal states in the region.
The emirate, and more specifically, the royal family made significant investments in
facilities and attractions. During this period, the first seven-star hotel, the Burj Al Arab hotel
was built. It is owned by the royal family and was built as part of the state-owned Jumeirah
international hotel chain. Financial analysts doubt that this project will ever provide returns
acceptable to typical financial investors; however, from a tourism and public policy perspective
it can be considered a success as it is now an iconic landmark in Dubai and led the way for the
additional high-end luxury developments by international hotel chains (Sharpley 2008).
The government also recognized that given Dubais desert climate, tourism in its hot
summer months would always be less attractive unless certain attractions or events were
specifically developed to draw tourists to the emirate during the summer months. Because of
this, specific events were created with the intent to reduce industry seasonality. These events
included the Dubai Shopping Festival and Dubai Summer Surprise. The Summer Surprise is a
10-week shopping, child-focused extravaganza. It combines discounted hotel prices with
activities directed at families. Colorful cultural ceremonies such as Bedouin weddings often
form part of the festivities, as well as powerboat competitions, horse races and golf, tennis and
rugby tournaments with extremely generous prizes. (Henderson 2006)
In addition to government involvement, Dubai recognized that one of the key factors for
the success of Dubais tourism industry is the strategic partnership between the government and
the private sector (Sharpley 2008). Partnerships with local and international, although mostly
Middle Eastern investors, were encouraged in order to share the developmental costs of the
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aforementioned projects and events. As a measurement of the success of these initiatives, many
of these events, although initially created and supported by the DTCM, eventually became fully
private-sector funded initiatives.
The second phase of the emirates development plan lasted from 2001-2010 and targeted
increasing annual tourist arrivals in 2010 to 15MM. The DTCM was primarily focused on
marketing and promotional activities and was supported by offices in 15 key overseas markets.
Its role was broadened to include managing the licensing of hotels, tour operators, tour guides,
and transport operators. The DTCMs goals for this phase also included the development of
sustainable tourism, encouraging public-private partnerships, quality management within the
tourism industry, and improving skills and employment opportunities. Dubai also recognized the
importance of culture in being a successful tourist destination and the DTCM began a policy of
cultural conservation during this period, which led to the development of various cultural events,
such as Bedouin wedding ceremonies during the Summer Surprise festivals. (Sharpley 2008)
The emirate continued with its pro-tourism policies by liberalizing visa and land
ownership restrictions. Dubais land ownership laws did not allow foreigners to own land;
however, restrictions were loosened such that foreign land ownership was allowed in certain
tourism development areas. Within these areas, such as the Internet and Media Cities, the Palms,
and the Dubai Marina, full foreign ownership of land was allowed, although this ownership was
still limited to 99-year leases. The government attempted to improve employment opportunities
for the local population; however, given that only 7% of the population over age 15 consists of
local emiratis and local emiratis had expectations of employment in white-collar, managerial
posts, rather than tourism, this area had limited success (Population).
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Throughout this period, the supply of hotels and hotel rooms have doubled (see chart on
next page). The majority of this growth has been in the high-end, luxury segment of four- and
five-star hotels which have had an average annual growth rate of 16.5% and 10.2%, respectively.
As a function of hotel room availabilities and also alcohol sales restrictions, the majority of
visitors (65% of residence nights) stayed in high-end hotels and Dubai was able to attract some
of the highest hotel rates in the world.



0
10
20
30
40
50
60
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Dubai Hotel Rooms by Class ('000s)
Five-Star Four-Star Three-Star Two-Star One-Star Listed/ Guest House
5-Star
40%
4-Star
25%
3-Star
16%
2-Star
10%
1-Star
8%
Listed
1%
2011 Residence Nights by
Hotel Classification
Source: Dubai Statistics Center
Source: Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing
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In addition to hotels, there was continued attraction and infrastructure developments,
most notably of these was The Palm Islands, an offshore development of three manmade islands,
each of which will add 160km of shoreline to mitigate the saturation of Dubais existing
coastline. The concept of the Palms is that the development will accommodate new hotels,
residential villas, shoreline apartments, marinas, water parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports
facilities, health spas, and movie theaters. Of the three islands, Palm Jumeirah, is slated to have
a $650MM, 2,000-room resort and water park that is being developed through a joint venture
between Nahkeel and Kerzner International. Construction on this island began in 2001 and is
almost complete, with the first residents arriving in 2006. The second island, Palm Jebel Ali,
began construction in October 2002, but was slowed by project delays due to the downturn in the
construction in 2008. Finally, work on the third and largest island, Palm Deira, began in
November 2004 (United Arab). Other public-private developments include The World, a
cluster of 250 manmade islands off the Jumeirah coastline between the Burj Al Arab and Port
Rashid. Each of these islands will be sold to private developers. Ski Dubai was successfully
opened in 2005 to combat seasonality by encouraging tourism during the low season with an
indoor ski slope.
Furthermore, the Dubai Metro project was started. The first part of the project consisted
of upgrading the existing Dubai International Airport and the second, beginning construction of
the new 6-runway World Central International Airport. The new airport is slated to be the
worlds largest airport handling 120MM passengers by 2025. Once again, in an effort to
encourage public-private partnership, the initial investment of the airport was provided by the
government, with the goal that the balance would be financed through private financing. Being a
rentier state, Dubai benefited enormously from the continuing inclination of the oil sheiks to
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invest within, rather than outside, the region, as profits from regional oil producing countries
were invested in Dubais tourist-friendly infrastructure program (Sharpley 2008). For example,
in 2004, Saudi Arabian investors invested $7BN into major property developments in Dubai.
One of the key reasons of success can be attributed to the regional oil profits, as most of the
capital used to finance these policies were derived from oil production.
Not all investments were a success, in 2009, due to oversupply and weak investor
confidence, the state-owned investment company, Dubai World, met with creditors to discuss
delaying the repayment of their $25BN debt. The issues were resolved in September 2010 when
99% of its creditors agreed to restructure the $25BN liabilities. As part of the agreement, Dubai
World was forced to, over the next eight years, sell a number of their prized assets, which are
valued at around $18BN. Also in 2010, Dubai Holding reached an agreement with its creditors
to extend the repayment of its $555MM credit facility. The development of Dubailand, the
biggest terrestrial tourism development, began in 2003, however further development was put on
hold in 2008 due to the global recession and economic crisis. It was to have been the most
ambitious leisure complex, attracting an estimated 200,000 visitors per day and housing the
largest shopping complex in the world and a Snowdome.

Keys to Success
Despite the setbacks that have been primarily caused by the global economic crisis and
economic recession in 2008, Dubai is a successful example of developing a Middle East tourism
center. The factors that have led to this success have been its political stability, government
policies, and geographic accessibility.
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Unlike other countries in the region, Dubai has experienced a relatively extended and
uninterrupted period of political order, along with economic prosperity.
Dubai acts as a regional entrepot and promotes itself as the commercial
and financial nexus of the Gulf, energetically creating free-trade zones and
industrial parks such as the latest ones devoted to the Internet and
Media. is seen as a comparatively liberal and cosmopolitan society, with
little threat of civil unrest and low crime rates, and expatriates make up
about 80% of the 1.2 million population (Henderson 2006).
As demonstrated above, the Dubai government has taken an extremely active role in the
development of tourism through legislation and investment in infrastructure, with the rulers of
Dubai setting the vision that Dubai will be a leading tourism destination and commercial hub in
the world (Henderson 2006). Tourism was viewed as a way to diversify its economy away
from its reliance on oil profits. Hospitality development has been facilitated by a relaxation of
land ownership laws. Public-private partnerships have launched events to reduce seasonality.
From an accessibility standpoint, Dubai aspires to be an air transport hub for the Middle
East and Far East and would like to also be considered a cruising hub and destination, similar to
Singapore. In order to achieve this goal, the government has simplified visa procedures to
streamline the passenger processing. (Henderson 2006)

Challenges and Opportunities
As Dubai enters the third phase of its tourism strategic plan, it clearly has succeeded
because of the significant financial resources it and its neighboring countries possess, as well as
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its ability to control and manage development in a way that democratic, market-led economies
would not be able to. However, there are a number of areas where it can improve.
Currently, the DTCM has been tasked with marketing and promotional offices to support
the tourism initiative. The problem with the DTCM is its lack of authority. It neither has
exclusive authority nor the mechanisms for managing the sector (Sharpley 2008). In Dubai, this
power belongs to the Dubai Executive Council, a government body made up of chairmen/CEOs
of public, private, and quasi-government organizations, major government owned development
companies, and government departments involved in tourism planning and management. The
DTCM is neither recognized nor able to act as the official tourism data collection and
dissemination source in Dubai, as a result tourism related data is spread through this organization,
the Dubai Statistics Center, and the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, among other agencies. No
tourism development project is allowed to proceed without the approval of the rule and even
though the Sheikh is the head of the DTCM, it is frequently excluded from the overall tourism
planning and strategizing process, as those usually occur behind closed doors at the Dubai
Executive Council. (Sharpley 2008)
The role of the DTCM has become one where it encourages investment and then
promotes the resulting product, rather than take an active stand in shaping the development of
and investment in the tourism project. Furthermore, because all decisions must be channeled
through the Sheikh, there tends to be a lack of central authority and rigor in approving project
developments. Sharpley provides the example of how investment proposals for the development
of hotels must be approved by the Sheikh, once the approval is received the actual design, scale,
and nature of the hotels is left to the development companies, without any central oversight. In
2005, this mismatch, or even lack of, oversight resulted in a shortage of rooms, causing a 35%
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price increase. It is clear that the mismatch still exists as the average annual growth rates for
tourist arrivals for 2002-2011 was 7.5%, but for the same period hotel rooms grew at a rate of
close to 10%.
There are concerns about the amount of capital spending the government is putting into
an unpredictable and cyclical industry and that tourism is responsible for unprecedented
construction and a potential real estate bubble. The figure below shows the magnitude of
development between 1990 and 2005. Furthermore, Dubai must face the environmental impact
of its development in a region that already has natural resource limitations.


While Dubai has already taken many steps to make itself friendlier to foreign investors, it
could do more in the way of its land ownership rules to further increase development. Currently
Source: Balakrishnan 2008
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land and real ownership laws require a local business or organization have a least 51%
ownership. Certain free zones, such as Internet City and Media City are not subject to these
laws, because international businesses operate under regulatory and legal bubble-domes tailored
to the specific needs of foreign capital (Sharpley 2008). As a result, all hotel developments are
still locally owned, but usually managed by international or local hotel chains.
Moreover, Dubai has developed a reputation of being expensive and does not enjoy a
high level of repeat tourism, as shown in the chart below, average stays are relatively short, with
an average across visitors of 3.2 nights, because it still relies on the short-stay/stop-over market.

Most of its attractions focus on individuals and feature a theme of a conspicuous consumption
lifestyle. In marketing materials, Dubai is positioned as the home of luxury brands. For example,
the average daily private consumption spending in Dubai is $26.80 versus $3.80 in the rest of the
Arab world. Visitors spend over $700MM annually at Dubai Duty Free, third only to Heathrow
and Incheon. As a result of the various shopping festivals that Dubai has organized and
Ramadan initiatives, nearly 2/3 of the annual gold and jewelry sales occurs around these select
2.3
2.8
3.1
3.0
4.2
2.7
2.4
3.2
UAE Other
AGCC
Other
Arab
Asia and
Africa
Europe Americas Oceana Overall
Average Length of Stay by Nationality
Source: Dubai Statistics Center
20

activities. Visitors to Dubai are coming more for shopping than for leisure or business activities.
While this currently benefits the emirate, the preoccupation with luxury and consumerism could
lead to the neglect of tourists with more modest budgets, whose spending is just as valuable.
(Balakrishnan 2008; Henderson 2006)
Compared with competitive destinations such as the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and
South East Asia, Dubai has a more narrow selection of cultural and natural heritage attractions
(Henderson 2006). Certain existing and planned leisure facilities such as shopping complexes
and theme parks have a sterility and homogeneity, which tourists may tire of once novelty wears
off (Henderson 2006).

Gastronomic Tourism in Dubai
One of the ways Dubai can try to increase visitor loyalty, increase their length of stays,
and appeal to more middle-class visitors and increase its cultural appeal is potentially through
gastronomic tourism. As stated by Henderson, food and wine can be a very powerful influence
on feelings of involvement and place attachment (2009). Dubai is emerging as of the up and
coming gastronomic destinations. In a recent survey 2/3 of UAE residents admit to eating out at
least twice a week and choosing food quality over price (Slow Economy).
Because of the large percentages of expatriates working Dubai, the multicultural
population has created demand for food from everywhere and has helped launch a restaurant
scene that is receiving accolades from chefs and tourists (Gastronomic). Its reputation as a
gastronomic destination has grown to the point where it is attracting attention from
internationally renowned chefs, several of whom have opened up restaurants in Dubai. The first
21

such international chef was Gordon Ramsay, who opened Verre in 2001 at the Hilton Dubai
Creek. Gary Rhodes then opened Rhodes Mezzanine in the Grosvenor House in 2007 and Nobu
Matsuhisa followed with Nobu Atlantis in 2008.
Because of alcohol restrictions, only four- and five-star hotel properties are permitted to
sell alcohol, so most of these high-end gastronomic restaurants are located within these hotels.
Dubai already has a culture of indulging in food with opulent Friday brunches a popular activity
for both locals and visitors. For example, at the Fairmont Dubai, diners can choose between 200
signature dished with unlimited Mot & Chandon champagne (Gastronomic).
Dubai has developed a number of events to promote its food culture. In 2007, the
Jumeirah Hotel Group, in conjunction with American Express and several other regional partners
launched a Festival of Taste. The five-day festival brought together high-profile chefs and was
later transformed into the Taste of Dubai. The Taste of Dubai features a variety of gastronomic
events during which visitors can sample signature dishes from Dubais leading restaurants and
watching cooking demonstrations, while being entertained by some of the regions favorite and
new musical bands. More recently, the Emirates Culinary Guild (ECG) was founded as a
professional association, whose mandate is the promotion of culinary arts of the UAE. ECG also
publishes a trade magazine and is involved in the Emirates International Salon Culinaire. This
prestigious international competition draws hundreds of chefs who are judged by a panel of
culinary experts approved by the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS)
(Gastronomic).


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Conclusion
Dubai is often referred to as Dubai, Inc., because everything in the emirate is largely
owned by the royal family or through government owned organizations. In an effort to diversify
its economic reliance on oil, Dubai wanted to become the center of international business and
services in the Middle East. One of the ways it has achieved this is through its public policy
towards tourism. Dubais actions towards and success around tourism are a direct result of its
and its neighbors wealth from oil, as well as its central planning. While it has achieved
remarkable success in a relatively short period, its tourism industry and overall development has
also been affected by the global financial crisis and Arab Spring movements. As Dubai resets its
course after its own economic recession, it needs to be aware of opportunities within the tourism
industry around focusing on consumer segments other than the high-end, luxury tourists and
developing cultural and heritage attractions, potentially around the booming gastronomic tourism
market and its emergence as a gastronomic destination.


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