Dubai - a Star in the East

The city of Dubai is located in the emirate of Dubai, which is one of the 7 United Arab Emirates (UAE). With its 83600 km, the emirate Dubai encompasses 4.9 % of the whole size of the UAE territory. (Statistical yearbook Emirate of Dubai, 2010) 2011 the total population was 2003170 people, from which approximately 75 % are male and 73.7 % between 20 and 44 years old (Population Bulletin Emirate of Dubai, 2011). 82% of the total population are expatriates (Balakrishnan, 2008). Dubai is a sheikhdom ruled by the Maktoum family (Lohmann et al., 2009). The entrepreneurial leader of Dubai is Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He is the UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. (Al Bawaba, 2009).

The ruler and its Vision

The basis of destination branding is a strategic vision, as a strong vision affects performance. Through visionary leadership coupled with taking the advantage of its strategic location, Dubai grew into a trading centre and transformed into the fastestgrowing city in the world. (Balakrishnan, 2008)
The leader inspires his country to share his vision of growth: think bigger and better (Al Bawaba, 2009). For the Khaleej Times (2012) he states that: We have a vision and high aspirations. The future does not wait for those who are hesitant. We do not anticipate the future. We build it. The governments vision is to become a globally leadlig city by 2015. (Balakrishnan, 2008) As a tourist in Dubai, I personally could feel this vision everywhere. Every single person, included in the tourism value chain believes in it and lives it: Dubai is the best, the tallest, the biggest, the widest, the longest, the whatever you can imagine

Dubai and its development

In a short amount of time, the landscape of a small fishing village changed to a metropolis with hundreds of skyscrapers, six-lane highways and a 75 kilometer long ultramodern metro. The key moment of the development of Dubai was in the late 1960s, when the oil was found. Since the oil is not going to last for a long time, Sheik Maktoum is focusing nowadays on tourism as well as trade, financial services, transport and construction. This indicates that Dubai had to undertake a repositioning strategy. So it happened only in the last decade that Dubai has emerged as a major tourist destination. (Balakrishnan, 2008; Salzburger Nachrichten, 2012)

Dubai in 2005

Dubai in 1990

Dubais development economic drivers

Looking at businesses, Dubai could attract foreign direct investment through incentives like no tax, free zones and the revised property ownership laws. From the investors point of views, Dubai gained a very positive image when it comes to encouraging business development.
Nevertheless, the median earning of an average expatriate citizen is less than US$700, whereas costs of living in the city are relatively high. (Balakrishnan, 2008) To me it was really obvious that there is a social gap between locals and expatriates, which mostly live outside the city to afford their rents. Moreover, I hardly never saw a local on duty; in the industry I was mostly confronted with Indians and Asians or Pakistani. However, I really had the feeling that all people pull on one strand in order to live and show Dubais vision.

Dubais development Tourism

According to the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) more than 5.5 million tourists visited Dubai in the first half of 2013. This number represents an 11.1 % year-on-year increase and indicates that Dubai is on the right way achieving its Tourism Vision for 2020, namely attracting 20 million tourists. (Trendmena, 2013, online)

When visiting the DTCM in Oct. 2013, Asma Mohammad, head of region East & West Europe Overseas Promotions and Inward Missions Dubai stated that Dubai from now on actually concentrates on three main pillars: Families MICE segment Events She also stressed the growing number of hotel rooms, counting 60.000 rooms in 2013 and reaching a number of 100.000 by 2020.

Dubais development Tourism Superlative

In order to achieve excellence, Dubai constructed a city of superlatives, which are a key success factor for their tourism industry. By the following an excerpt of the most impressive superlatives is given. Burj al Arab In 1999 Dubai promoted the opening of the Burj al Arab as the first seven star hotel in the world. It is considered as the most expensive and most luxurious hotel on earth. (Scharfenort, 2007). The Hotel shaped as a sail and considered as the landmark from Dubai. It was in my opinion very impressive, but compared to other hotels no 7* worth.

Dubais development Tourism Superlative

Burj Kalifa At over 828 metres with 162 stories, Burj Khalifa holds the following world records: Tallest building Tallest free-standing structure Elevator with the longest travel distance in the world, etc. (atthetop, 2012) This building represents really their way of think, which I see also as the formula of their fast and enormous development: NOTHING is impossible!

Dubais development Tourism Superlative

Dubai Mall and Fountains

With more than 1,200 shops on one million square meters selling space, the Dubai Mall is the largest shopping center worldwide. Moreover there is an aquarium within the center, which earned the Guinness World Record for the world's "Largest Acrylic Panel" (Tourismuswirtschaft Austria & International, 2012). The Dubai Fountain, can spray 83,000 litters of water in the air at any moment. Its lights and colour projectors can be seen from over 20 miles away. (thedubaimall, online)

Dubais development Tourism Superlative

Ski Dubai

Ski Dubai is the first indoor ski hall in the Middle East and offers on 22,500 square meters 5 slops. The longest drive is 400 meters with a fall of 60 meters. Additionally there is an interactive Snow Park, which with 3000 square meters is the largest indoor snow park in the world. (skidubai, online)

Dubais development Tourism Superlative

Dubai Marina and Man-made Islands Over 200 sky scrapers are located in the worlds largest man-made marina (Horner & Swarbrooke, 2004). The Palm is one of the biggest and most luxurious artificial islands in the world. To build it 94 million km of sand needed. There are 60 luxury hotels, 4,000 residential villas, 1,000 water homes, 5,000 apartments and more (International Business Times, 2012) There is another project called The World, which media talked a lot about. But having been at the location, the fact is that they did not built the island due to a lack of investors. So, what will happen to its future development?

Dubais development Tourism: Positioning

Dubais Strategic Positioning is between expensive long-haul destinations (Carribian, Maledives, Australia) and cheaper short-haul destinations. (Mason, 2008) In detail the destination stands for a home of luxury brands, world class shopping and extraordinary architecture. It is known for the biggest, best, tallest, most impressive world-class architecture projects, which magnetize tourists from all over the world. The citys position as a shopping destination is further supported by various festivals and events, such as the famous Dubai Shopping Festival or international sporting events, like tennis championships, the FIA GT Championship and the A1 Grand Prix. (Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing, 2012a, Balakrishnan, 2008) My personal feeling: The enormous superlative projects, unique shopping possibilities, coupled with mega-events position Dubai as a once in lifetime destination, which magnetize tourists to a world of luxury and endless possibilities. What makes Dubai unique is the high concentration of superlatives, which create a WOW-effect for its guests when they are experiencing the extremes of Dubai. The Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (2012a) states that in a single day, the tourist can experience everything from rugged mountains and awe-inspiring sand dunes to sandy beaches and lush green parks, from dusty villages to luxurious residential districts and from ancient houses with wind towers to ultra-modern shopping malls.

Dubais development strengthening services

Services, which contribute 74 % to Dubais must consider business government and consumer services, intellectual, social and human capital, welfare and quality of life and security. Therefore, one of the areas Dubais strategic plan focuses on is people management. Due to the reason that intellectual capital is quite low, Dubai has to deal with challenges like brain drain, attracting skilled, productive labor and motivate employees. But services are also dependent on rules, policies and infrastructure. Thats why Dubai embraced the latest technology and integrated eServices of all government offices. (Balakrishnan, 2008) I am of the opinion, that Dubai has already made a big step towards high service quality. What I could recognised the most was that every little part of the service chain contributed in a positive way. They were all friendly, helpful and showed a lot of effort to satisfy the customer. Technology was also given and very modern. Free Wi-Fi access in hotels and public buildings is already a standard.

Dubais development the transit hub

An unique competitive advantage for Dubai is its geographic location at the between Asia, Africa and Europe. Within just 8 hours 4.5mio. people can reach the emirate by plane. A crucial action for Dubais development was the foundation of the Emirates Airlines in 1985, which is the 4th largest airline in the world. (Balakrishnan, 2008) In 2012 the airline carried 39 Mio. passengers and numbers are even rising. (Emirates Annual Report, 2013). It is excepted that Emirates Airline will be the largest in the world. According to the MENA Report (2012), Tim Clark, the president of Emirates Airline states that Dubai Airport will be the worlds biggest hub till year 2018 with a capacity to rise from 60 million to 90 million.

Dubais further development

With regards to Dubais projects, discussed before, I personally see the destinations status quo in the Butlers destination lifecycle between the stages development and consolidation, approximately around the critical carrying capacity point. Referring to the Khaleej Times United Arab Emirates (2012) Dubai is right now still in a boom phase with a very stable financial situation. The new mega projects are promising and are indicators for even more development.

Dubais further development

From a critical point of view though, Dubai, also known as the worlds fastest growing city, will without a doubt be confronted with challenges and problems that have to be addressed. Despite the success of Dubai as a tourist destination some aspects have to be critical reflected in order to get a holistic impression. At this stage, the question arises: Can Dubais future development ever be sustainable?
Sustainable steps to a greener Dubai are in planning. At the beginning the year 2012, for instance, a project about a huge solar energy park was presented. Also the local energy authority is developing strategies to reduce Dubais gas emissions. However, more ideal dreams than actual implemented projects can be counted. (Kaye, 2012) Kaye (2012) states in an article that Dubai still has a long road to travel until the reality of sustainable living matches the rhetoric. The hard part will be the actual implementation. Although there are first approaches of sustainability steps, I would rather share my opinion with Leon Kaye. It is believed that there are just ideas of a sustainable development but the reality looks differently.

Dubais further development

Environmental Costs
Dubai consists out of a society that tends to be decadent and wasteful with resources. Concerning environmental pollution the UAE is highlighted as the city with the highest ecological footprint per capita (Hvidt, 2009). This brings up the question when Dubai will start thinking about environmental sustainability. Dubais population consumes resources faster than they produce them, and it might be very hard to implement an environmental consciousness because the countrys dependency on import of goods is on a very high level. (Shuttle-Peevers, 2011)

Can Dubai effort the costs for over consuming resources and take the responsibility for the environmental damage in times where their population is growing extremely fast?

Dubais further development

Leading Dubai Even success factors could turn into risks, for example the non-transparental- government in which only one single person has the power could be a critical point to review (Matly & Dillon, 2007). On one hand the dependency of Dubai on its leader Al Maktoum is extremely high. Therefore, the impact of a wrong or irrational decision at his turn would be enormous and could destroy competitive advantages (Hvidt, 2009). On the other hand the leadership and government are getting more and more complex and important because Dubai grows and captures a central role in the Middle East (Matly & Dillon, 2007).

What if Al Maktoum will miscalculate in some of his projects? Will he be able to keep the high level of centralisation? What would happen to Dubai if the next leader has a different mission? Could the lack of democracy threaten future investors?

Dubais further development

Working in Dubai Dubai buys its expertise through high qualified labours form abroad and even if there are investments in the education system for the local people, it will take some time to implement an appropriate system. In order to keep the well educated people in the country, Dubai has to build up the ability for their kids to visit a good school. Another reproach is that Dubai is exploiting cheap labour force from Asia. Especially for the construction of building and infrastructure, they used half a million workers from India. In order to reduce costs Dubai paid very low salaries which enhanced the competitive advantage compared to Europe and America. (Hvidt, 2009) Can Dubai hold its expatriates? Will Dubai always attract enough new experts even if other countries, like China, are getting economically more and more attractive? What will happen the Asian labours are not so cheap anymore due to the development in their countries?

Dubais further development

The Islam Dubai wants to be a city where the western culture meets the Arabic culture. There is a potential for conflicts between western tourists and the Arabic population that needs to be managed. The laws concerning alcohol, dress code, prostitution, homosexuality etc. are more relaxed policies than in other Islamic countries. Dubai has the potential be targeted for a terroristic act (Matly & Dillon, 2007). On an international level the Islamic fundamentalism could draw a risk, especially for the tourism branch which is a very sensitive one when it comes to security or terror issues. (Hvidt, 2009; Matly & Dillon, 2007)
Can Dubai find the balance between enlarging the rules to stay attractive for tourists from other cultural circles and sticking to Islamic principles? What is the likelihood of a terroristic attack in Dubai?

Dubais further development

In conclusion it can be said that Dubai is a particular city due to several reasons, like geographical location, superlatives, and economic growth rates. After running out of oil Dubai invested billions in economic diversification especially in the fields of trade and tourism. They used their natural advantages and turned even weaknesses into success factors. Dubai is visionary and uniform in branding Dubai as a city of contrasts. There are some issues concerning sustainability that have to be monitored in order to remain competitive. However, it is difficult to forecast how Dubai will be in the future.

Just recently it was decided that Dubai will host the 2020 World Expo. I could imagine that 2020 would be the year of rejuvenation or repositioning. Now the customer is still impressed by the biggest, richest, tallest, and whatever; but I am sure they will face some challenges in the future with this positioning. Also Dubai has to adapt to customer expectations, which constantly rise and change. But how would a person in Dubai say. NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!

References
Al Bawaba. (2009). His highness sheikh mohammed bin rashid al maktoum formally opens the dubai mall. London. Anonymous. (2012). Arabische Welt bleibt auf Wachstumskurs - Positive Signale vom Arabian Travel Market in Dubai. Tourismuswirtschaft Austria & International, 2103/12, p. 4. Balakrishnan, M. S. (2008). Dubai - a star in the east: A case study in strategic destination branding. Journal of Place Management and Development, 1 (1), p. 62 - 91. Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing. (2013). 2011 - Dubai Hotel & Hotel Apartment Guests by Nationality. Available at: http://www.dubaitourism.ae/en/trade-resources/statistics/hotel-statistics, Accessed: 20/11/2013 Emirates Annual Report (2013): Annual Report 2012-13. Available at: http://content.emirates.com/downloads/ek/pdfs/report/annual_report_2013.pdf, Accessed 20/11/2013 Hvidt, M. (2009). The Dubai Model: An outline of key components of the development process in Dubai. Center for contemporary Middle East Studies, University of Southern Denmark. Int. J. Middle East Studies, 41/09, p. 397418. Kaye, L. (2012). Can Dubai ever be sustainable? The Guardian. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/dubai-sustainabilityinspiration-city, Accessed: 20/11/2013 Matly, M. & Dillon, L. (2007). Dubai Strategy: Past - Present Future. Harvard Business School, February 27, 2007. MENA Report. (2012). United Arab Emirates: DUBAI airport expands to be biggest hub till 2018. London: Albawaba. Salzburger Nachrichten. (2012). Ein Rendezvous in Dubai. Available at: http://www.salzburg.com/nachrichten/lifestyle/urlaub-reisen/sn/artikel/einrendezvous-in-dubai-32782/, Accessed: 20/12/2012 Scharfenort, N. (2007). Stdterivalitt in den arabischen Golfstaaten. German Institute of Global and Area Studies Institute for the Middle East. No. 5. Shuttle-Peevers, A. (2011). Lonely Planet Dubai City Guide. Germany: First Stewardship Council. SkiDubai. (2012). SkiDubai. Available at: https://www.theplaymania.com/skidubai, Accessed: 20/11/2013 Swarbrooke, J. (1999). Sustainable Tourism Management. London: CAB International. Trendmena (2013). Dubai tourist arrivals rise 11.1%. Available at: http://trendsmena.com/dubai-tourist-arrivals-rise-11-1/, Accessed: 23/11/2013