As the United Arab Emirates’ tourism revenues surpasses $5 billion in the first half of this year, even as reports suggest of strong performance expected this winter when neighbouring Qatar hosts football’s World Cup, Dubai is investing in a massive moon resembling resort.
According to a Arabian Business report, “Dubai could have a $5 billion (AED18 billion) moon building in the form of destination resort, Canadian architectural company and intellectual property licensor, Moon World Resorts Inc. (MWR). Proposed and co-founded by Sandra G. Matthews and Michael R. Henderson, the resort is designed to be built in 48 months, and will have an overall height of 735 feet (224 metres).”
Interestingly, once constructed, “Moon Dubai is expected to add to the emirate’s economy in sectors such as hospitality, entertainment, attractions, education, technology, the environment and space tourism, Henderson said” according to Arabian Business report. The moon resort’s lunar surface, surrounded by a “lunar colony,” is expected to enable 2.5 million guests, annually, to experience affordable space tourism on the ground in Dubai, according to the Arabian Business report.
Meanwhile, with the United Arab Emirates’ tourism revenues surpassing $5 billion in the first half of this year, hotel occupancy was up more than 40% on Covid-hit 2021, UAE prime minister and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said after a cabinet meeting in the capital Abu Dhabi.
“Our tourism sector’s revenues surpassed 19 billion dirhams ($5.2 billion) in the first half of 2022,” Sheikh Mohammed said, according to the official WAM news agency. “The total number of hotel guests reached 12 million, achieving 42 percent growth, and we expect a strong tourism performance in this winter season.”
Dubai, an established holiday destination, is expecting to host large numbers of football fans during the World Cup in November and December due to a scarcity of accommodation in tiny Qatar. Dubai is one of the Gulf cities operating daily shuttle flights to and from Qatar during the World Cup, allowing fans to stay outside the wealthy state and still attend games. Dubai airport, the world’s busiest for international travel pre-pandemic, handled 27.8 million passengers in the first half of this year, up more than 160 percent on the same period of 2021, it said last month.
(With inputs from AFP, Arabian Business)
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