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Thursday, September 6, 2007
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   Thursday, September 6, 2007

Welcome to Dubai, the City of Contrasts
Dubai is the location where ancient and modern civilizations meet. Dubai is the place where you can be gazing at the Architectural craftsmanship that lead to the tall modern buildings and 5 minutes later you can be wondering through the little old side streets at the Dubai gold souk. Dubai is an important MICE destination with modern meeting facilities and deluxe city business hotels where large multinationals and business travelers meet from around the world for fancy exhibitions and lengthy negotiations. However Dubai is also a holiday destination for families with children who enjoy a week at the Jebel Ali or the Sheraton Dubai Beach Resort

Dubai is indeed a great travel destination for both the tourist as well as the business traveler. Dubai has so much to offer in means of activities, hotels and infrastructure to name but a few. Kids love Dubai as there are so many great activities held for them each day at either one of the hotels or at one of the tourist's attractions such as wild water park. Not to worry for mom and dad as they will have ample opportunity to enjoy themselves at one of the many attractions or events held daily. The numerous Dubai tour companies organize a great variety of activities which may include jeep safari's , snowboarding down the sand dunes or really hitting the ski slopes in the recently opened Dubai indoor ski lodge.
Dubai has reached the Valhalla status of tourism destinations. It will be hard to find any destination around the world which has had such strong growth in tourism income and arrivals and Dubai has even become one of the world wide trendsetters when it comes to travel and tourism. However Dubai knows as no other how quickly a destination can reach the top and how fast a destination can become unpopular among travelers and meeting planners.
Dubai is continuing to heavily invest into the Dubai tourism industry with lots of spending on infrastructure, new Dubai resorts and a whole series of spectacular attractions that are being built currently or are under plans. The soon to be opened underwater hotel is just a sample of what the planners in Dubai are up to.
The continuous investments by the authorities and finance community should normally guarantee its position as of the main travel destinations around the world however there is another side to the success of Dubai.
More and more visitors our expressing their disgust with the big price increases which the hotels in Dubai seem to implement each season. Dubai was never a destination really for budget travelers however some of the hotels are starting to charge astronomical rates for their room. The Dubai hotel owners should not become greedy and arrogant and out price themselves. Many destinations in the past have seen this happen which finally led to a popularity of those destinations dropping rather fast.
Nearby countries such as Oman and Qatar are seeing their popularity among international tourists rapidly increasing and more and more hotels are other facilities are being constructed although both countries have a large number of first class hotels. The other Emirates, with which Dubai forms the United Arab Emirates, are seeing their tourism industries growing at warp speed. Abu Dhabi has a large number of world class hotels and resorts and more are being contracted. The most expensive hotel ever build is in fact the Emirates Palace which is owned by the Abu Dhabi government and is managed by Kempinski. There are more and more great alternatives to Dubai in the region and often at much lower prices so the policy makers should very much consider this.
Dubai has focused all their energy and funds into the tourism industry as one can clearly see. The result is magnificent. However as the oil supply is rumored to dry up soon, it will mean that Dubai has put almost all their eggs into one basket. Dubai will be very dependent on the hospitality and tourism business which can lead to undesirable situations.
Dubai is unfortunately not located in a very stable part of the world. Due to the constant problems that nearby countries have with one and other such as Israel, Iraq, Iran and Syria, it is difficult to predict the future. Unfortunately an event in a nearby country can completely paralyze the tourism business which would be disastrous for Dubai and its work force.
A good example of a destination which suffered deeply as it had only the tourism industry to rely on is Bali. I worked there just before the big financial crisis hit South East Asia during the final months of 1997. The Island of the gods had extremely high occupancies and high average room rates. Many new hotels were being constructed as Bali was a gold mine at that time. It was the playground of the international Jet set. Since the crisis hit in 1997 Bali has never been able to attract meeting planners and the large number of tourists that they were once used to. Many locals lost their source income and a great deal of investors lost their lifesaving. So many hotels have been put up for sale without their being any interested buyers.
Off course Dubai is located in a different region of the world however several ingredients of what caused Bali to disappear as a big tourism player also exist potentially in Dubai. The religious fanatics that hit Bali could shit their sights to other places and Dubai with al its western tourists do stand out a bit. It all takes one such attach and the tourism industry will receive a blow which it might not recover from.
Additionally having spoken to many Dubai travelers as well as people living and working in Dubai, I have compiled a list of items which would be great for improvement and would surely please many visitors.
• Stop the pricing discrimination which charges Arabs and former Soviet Union nations more then western Europeans and Asians. This policy has upset a great number of travelers which don't have this happen in Qatar or Oman for example.
• Due to so many hotels having opened and being opened in the near future, there is the risk that the quality of the hotel staff could drop. Clients are starting to complain more about the service they receive at the Dubai hotels. The guests often feel that the hotels and their management are somewhat arrogant and not flexible when it comes to solving any problem that clients might have.
• Dubai has one of the strictest cancelation policies of any destination around the world. It is not unheard of that hotels are charging 100% cancelation fee even if the client cancelled a week or more before. The hotels should understand that this will finally become a good reason for travelers not to go. A week at a beach resort can easily cost 3000-5000 USD and if they have to cancel due to a family emergency then that would a ridiculous cancelation fee for the hotel to keep.
• Many hotels in Dubai still have not very generous children's policies as parents frequently have to pay kid supplement on top of the room charge. The vast majority of destinations that I worked at have the rule that 2 kids under 12 could share the room with the parents as long as no extra bedding was required. A large number of Dubai hotels only require one child to stay in the room and therefore a family with 2 small kids is told to get 2 rooms. This is another sore point for families and which are turning them away as they need to stay with their young kids in one room.
• Dropping visa requirement for certain nationalities. The countries that entered the EU some years ago like Malta and the Czech Republic still require a visa while the other member countries of the EU don't require one. Also nearby Lebanon and Egypt for example still require a visa which is rather complex for last minute business travel and meetings.
Finally a point of myself to finish of this article.. Dubai seems to be able to make the most amazing buildings, attractions and artificial islands. However, why is the public transport service in Dubai so poor compared to its luxurious hotels and malls. That is certainly one large contrast. Many of the Taxis are charging very high rates and especially those at the airport. Cant some rail network be build between the airport and Dubai and possible even the beach area. Kuala Lumpur builds an excellent rail system when they opened their new airport a few years back. I am certain that Dubai would become an even better tourism hotspot with such as system.


Why There is Boom in Resort and Spa?
Modern life has become highly fast-paced and competitive. You have no time stand and stare. And as R.L. Stevenson said in Alice in Wonderland, "Here staying at a place means running, and to go any place you must run faster".
So, leisure is the need of the time, everyone wants to steal a moment from the busy schedule and live that moment as if living eternity. Resorts and Spas are the real heaven for this leisure-pursuit.
Resort
Generally a resort is a place used for recreation and relaxation. It is distinguished by a great medley of activities, such as food, drink, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping.
A resort can commonly refer to two specific but similar places:
• towns in which holidaying or tourism is a major part of the local activity but are usually not run by a single company.
• vacation centers run by a single company, which attempt to provide for most of a vacationer's wants while staying there.
The point to be noted here is that simple lodging and boarding premises are just hotels, and not resorts as misunderstood by many.
Spa
The term Spa derived from Belgian 'sanus per aquam'. It is a place where water that is believed to have special health-giving properties occurs. Generally, it is a mineral or hot spring, and can include cold water treatments.
The term spa has gained additional meaning, today it is considered as a place that provides body treatments.
Types of spas include:
holiday spas
• resort spas or destination or spa towns
• health spas (spas for thermal bath, balneotherapy and hydrotherapy)
• trim spas - weight loss pills
The resorts and spas, more often have become a lifestyle and/or fashion statement.
Resorts and Spas have become closely associated with travel and tourism. Tourism is the act of travel for the purpose of recreation and business, and the provision of services for this act. Sometimes business tour involves making deals while being at leisure. That's why there are some much transit hotels, resort, spas are becoming popular.

Kathy John is an eminent author and has a great knowledge and experience of hospitality and resort management at Florida Keys. She has managed Florida key hotels.


Don't be an Ice Cube
Water is great to play in. Swimming, canoeing, kayaking, rafting. There are lots of ways to get wet and have fun. But there are dangers too.
Of course everyone is aware of the threat of drowning. So we learn to swim and take other proper precautions such as wearing flotation devices. But water presents another more subtle danger that many people, especially novices to outdoor recreation, are not aware of.
Hypothermia! Water actually has the ability to drain the warmth from your body and turn you into an ice cube. Well, not literally (unless you are swimming in the Arctic Ocean) but the effect will be the same. You will die.
It's all a matter of simple physics. You can handle cold air because your body has the ability to manufacture enough warmth to compensate for heat it loses.
But water transfers heat over 200 times more efficiently than air. Immerse yourself in water and your body simply can't keep up. Even when the water is relatively warm, say 65 degrees, your body can't generate enough warmth to compensate for the heat being sucked out into the water.
You can be in danger even if you are not actually in the water. Maybe you are in a boat or even on shore, but you are constantly being splashed by the water spray. Combine that with a good wind blowing and you have the potential for hypothermia.
You may be comfortably dry in your canoe or kayak, enjoying a bright warm sunny day. But an unexpected event could send you into the lake or river.
The time it takes for hypothermia take hold varies depending on the water temperature and other factors. But be aware that even in 65 degree water, a person could succumb to it within a few hours.
One of the early symptoms of hypothermia is reduced ability to speak and think. Observe the members of your party and watch for signs of impaired speech. Other tings to look for are increased irritability, blue lips, uncontrolled shivering and clumsiness.
These early stages are the time to do something before hypothermia really sets in. Getting warm and dry will get you back to normal so you can continue with your activities.
If nothing is done, then hypothermia will set in and professional treatment will be needed.

The threat of hypothermia is something that you need to be aware of anytime you are near the water. The colder the water is, the quicker it will hit you. But even warmer water can kill you if it is given enough time. So be careful around water.
The good news is that even acute hypothermia need not be fatal provided you get out of the water and obtain treatment. If your planned outdoor activities involve water then it is your responsibility to learn how to avoid and how to treat hypothermia. Otherwise you could end up an ice cube.