Russian Federation
The article considers factors of tourism development in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The role of strategy, planning and management of this process by the state is shown. It is argued that the state’s adjusted policy has played an equally important role in the development of tourism in the country than large petrodollar investments. The role of clusters and major projects in the transformation of the UAE into an important player in the world tourism market is analyzed.
United Arab Emirates (UAE), tourism, clusters, economic policy of the state, investments.
Tourism plays an important role in personal development, intercultural communication, and understanding of civilizations, customs, traditions and way of life of other peoples. Arab countries are among the most popular tourist destinations in the world. The Arab world is famous for its architectural monuments, religious shrines, historical sights, but at the same time a modern infrastructure for recreation and entertainment. In Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and other countries, ancient monuments and modern tourist objects are surprisingly adjacent. Tourism has an important role in increasing the income of Arab countries (Egypt, Syria, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia and others). This industry has an impact on economic growth in many other related industries (trade, construction, agribusiness, transport, finance, etc.). The UAE is one of the leaders in tourism not only among Arab countries, but in the world as a whole. Over the past decades, this country has undergone a major change in infrastructure — many modern airports were built, international hotels with world-class characteristics were created, museums were being developed, huge commercial centers were being created, etc. The strategy of the UAE to create a modern tourist cluster of the world level in the Arabian sands deserves careful study [16].
History of tourism development in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Today, the UAE is one of the leaders of the world tourism market, and this situation is taken for granted. However, this country began to enter the Olympus tourist industry less than thirty years ago. In the 60s of the 20th century, Abu Dhabi was a small cluster of houses and palm trees between the fort and the sea. The old city consisted of about 20 stone houses with wind towers, used for ventilation of premises, and several dozen palm huts. The city lived on account of fishing and pearl mining. On the rapid development of tourism there was no speech. Dubai, by and large, was a tiny village by the sea [8].
Considering the chronology of the development of tourism in the (UAE), it can be noted that the creation in 1989 of the Organization of the Council for the Promotion of Commerce and Tourism of Dubai (OSKSTD) was an important milestone. Its registration demonstrated the steady intention of the authorities to engage in the development of tourism. From the height of the years that have passed since this moment, it can be noted that the ambitions and strategic goals of the authorities became the features of the authorities’ vision and policy. In 1994, the first tourist exhibition in the city — Arabian Travel Market was held. In 1996, the first Dubai shopping festival was held, attracting thousands of guests to the city. In 1999, just 10 years after the establishment of the OCSPC, the Arab Tower was built, the so-called “Parus”, which became the world’s first sevenstar hotel. It was from this moment that Dubai and the UAE gained recognition in the international tourism market [9].
Further developments showed that this was only the beginning of the history of tourism development in the UAE. After that, the implementation of iconic unique projects continued. In 2008, the creation of artificial Palm Islands was completed, the perimeter of which added 520 km of beaches to Dubai. In 2010, the “Tower of Caliph” was built with a height of 828 m, which became the tallest building in the world. In 2012, the world’s largest manmade archipelago, consisting of 300 islands, was built, which together resembles a map of the world. In addition, Dubai hosts the Mall of the Emirates, the largest shopping and entertainment center in the Middle East, with 400 stores, a cinema for 14 rooms, a hotel, a ski complex with a capacity of 1500 people, and a myriad of restaurants and cafes. In various emirates, new tourist projects are launching, such as the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi or the FerrariWorld theme park, the Dubai Opera House, the Dubai Water Channel and others [9].
In 2015, the tourist and entertainment complex Dubai Bayland was opened. It consists of 45 independent projects and by 2020 will be a fullfledged city, capable of hosting up to 2.5 million people a year. The project includes creation of a fullfledged infrastructure on the basis of theme parks in the form of hotels, elite housing complexes, sports facilities (including five golf clubs and an autodrome). This grandiose project has no analogues in the world.
No less ambitious is the construction of the city of Masdar [15]. When the construction is completed, Masdar will use 75% less energy than conventional cities. In addition, the developers are counting on the lack of waste and harmful emissions into the atmosphere. In Masdar, there is a total lack of cars, and the need for transportation will provide a common and personal automatic transport. The cost of the project is estimated at 19 billion dollars, and the complete completion of construction is scheduled for 2025 [15].
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