Dubai, Doha, Jordan and Egypt are among the key cities that will play a major role in developing tourism in the Middle East, says GILLIAN MORRIS
OCCASIONALLY, an entirely new and innovative product enters the market, changing the game for all players. We think of this most often in terms of technology – take for example the advent of the iPod. It was not the first digital MP3 player, but the first to hit the right formula of user-friendliness, attractive design, and affordability.
The Mena region, home to some 400 million people, has emerged as one of the most dynamic markets in the world, full of new products vying to be the iPod of their respective sectors. In the tourism industry, this has led to heavy investment by both the public and private sector in infrastructure and marketing.
Yet for every iPod, there are a couple of dozen gadgets doing much the same that never quite make it off the shelves. In the tourism industry, this can take the form of empty hotels, under-used airports, and abandoned construction projects: all very visible, and expensive, signs that investors didn’t read their market closely enough.
Thanks to the continuing shifts in global economic power, the destinations which are developing today stand a chance of becoming some of the most travelled-through places in the world, thanks to the region’s emerging role as both an economic and physical link between western and eastern economies. They are already driving growth in the tourism sector worldwide: according to figures from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), growth in overnight visitor arrivals reached 12.3 per cent by end of June in Africa, 13 per cent in the Middle East, compared to just 1.4 per cent in Europe.
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Morris: archaeology-rich Egypt scores on affordability |
So, as 2010 closed doors, which country’s tourism offerings are following the iPod model, and which are headed in the same direction as portable CD players and Walkmans?
Doha – a city that appeared, to many people’s surprise, at the number 9 spot on the New York Times’ coveted ‘Places to Go’ list in 2009 – has continued to build on the momentum of the past few years. Of all the cities in the region, it may be trying hardest to channel the kind of cutting-edge design and fashion that made the iPod so appealing, with generally positive results. The Doha Tribeca Film Festival, operating in partnership with the highly-acclaimed New York-based festival, has gained substantial industry buzz, with rumours that Doha could turn into the Cannes or the Sundance of the Middle East. In the international art market, Qatari collectors have made a name for themselves with high-profile purchases like the Mark Rothko, Francis Bacon, and Damien Hirst reportedly snapped up by Sheikha Al Massaya, the daughter of the Emir, at a Sotheby’s auction in mid-2009. Blockbuster pieces like these, as well as a substantial and growing collection of art and artefacts from the region, will be housed in Qatar’s growing stable of notable museums.
According to STR Global, which compiles global hotel data, Jordan has been one of the best performers throughout 2010, notching up the greatest increase in occupancy and revenue per available room (revpar) year-on-year. In some ways, Jordan’s appeal is timeless: the ruins of the ancient city of Petra are among the most awe-inspiring on earth, and hotel rooms nearby have been more in demand in 2010 than ever before. Jordan also remains one of the most easy-to-visit destinations in the region, making this the choice for ‘user friendliness’.
Dubai, which took a beating both in the press and in the markets for much of 2009, has nevertheless managed to hold onto its crown as the leisure capital of the Gulf – and become a little more affordable in the process. The Dubai Department of Tourism and Marketing (DTCM) reported a nine per cent increase in hotel guests in the first half of 2010 as compared to the same period in 2009. In addition, despite a 16 per cent increase in the supply of hotel rooms, the occupancy rate of 71.2 per cent was maintained, driving revenues up six per cent – all of which adds up to a convincing recovery for the emirate.
Another winner for affordability is archaeology-rich Egypt. For years the region’s biggest draw in terms of numbers after the hajj, the country suffered disappointing tourist numbers in 2009 thanks largely to the financial crisis. The year 2010, however, saw a significant resurgence for the country, with arrivals increasing 21 per cent to over seven million in the first half of 2010. This strong showing is important to Egypt’s economic health, which is more intimately tied with the tourism sector than most other countries. According to Tourism Minister Zoehair Garrana, 12 per cent of Egypt’s workforce is employed by the tourism industry.
Gillian Morris is Business Group Analyst at Oxford Business Group