The emirate’s status as a less conservative holiday hotspot coupled with its booming hospitality industry is attracting a slew of western nightclub brands to the city, all looking to capitalise on the growing nightlife scene.

London-based nightclubs Mahiki, Cirque du Soir and Movida have all opened branches of their famous clubs in Dubai in the last four months.

“Dubai has gone from a sandy holiday resort to a major international destination in the last few years. You can definitely seen an upward trend in terms of the tourists coming here; they don’t just want to enjoy the sun, they want to enjoy Dubai, its restaurants, its clubs and bars,” Mark Merran, founder of Movida, told Arabian Business.

Movida Dubai’s owner, Evgeny Kuzin, has spent approximately $10m fitting-out the Movida’s first nightclub outside London but expects to recoup his investment within a year.

“Movida is very well known in this market….All the VIP clientele of Dubai have visited Movida in London,” he said.

Movida, a popular hangout for celebrities in London, said tables at its Dubai club had been fully booked three nights a week for the last month. Prices for a table start at AED5,000 and reach upwards of AED80,000 while the average guest spends around AED1,000, said Merran.

“It’s been a big success. In my experience night clubs don’t really reach their full potential for about three months…..it takes a while for it to filter through to the general public so I think we are ahead of the curve,” he added.

Dubai was one of the hardest hit by the global economic downturn, which forced many expatriates to return home and saw tourism figures decline. But the emirate’s safe haven status amid the Arab Spring alongside its luxury hotels, restaurants and nightclubs has boosted tourism.

Passenger traffic through Dubai’s international airport rose 8.9 percent year-on-year in November while Dubai was the region’s only destination to show a rise in hotel occupancy and revenue per available room in 2011, according to Ernst & Young.

Travel and tourism contributed 16.6 percent – or $42.56bn – to Dubai’s GDP in 2010, according to estimates from the Abu Dhabi Economic Development Department.

The French Polynesian themed nightclub Mahiki, a reported favourite of Prince Harry’s, opened its doors in November.

“We looked at lots of cities all over the world…..the reason Dubai worked so well is because it seemed to be in a very similar position to where London was six years ago when we opened the original Mahiki,” said Matt Jolley, general manager at Mahiki Dubai.

“The economic situation in the world did play a part [in our decision to open in Dubai]. Dubai and the UAE in particular seemed to be much more stable than the rest of the world. And because you that have high-end tourists, the spenders [it works],” he added.

The four vessels, which can carry more than 9,000 passengers, called at Port Rashid over a 24-hour period and were berthed simultaneously.

The award-winning Dubai Cruise Terminal experienced a 30 per cent growth in tourist traffic between 2009 and 2010, from 100 ships and 260,000 passengers to 120 ships and more than 390,000 passengers.

The pattern continued in 2011, with 135 cruise vessel calls and 375,000 passengers visiting, according to the Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM).

In light of the growing demand, DP World is expanding the existing terminal facilities to serve as many as five cruise ships at one time and plans to eventually expand the terminal to be able to serve as many as seven cruise vessels simultaneously.

Mohammed Al Muallem, senior vice president and managing director, DP World, UAE Region, said: “Dubai Cruise Terminal’s success in handling four mega passenger vessels at one time confirms Port Rashid’s ability to embrace the growth in cruise tourism in Dubai.”

“This event demonstrates the cruise terminal’s capacity and the readiness of its infrastructure to cater to multiple large cruise vessels at once. DP World is committed to investing long term in the transformation of Port Rashid into the region’s cruise destination of choice with the support and close cooperation of DTCM, our strategic partner in promoting cruise tourism in Dubai.”

Mohammed Al Mannaei, director – Port Rashid, DP World, UAE Region, said: Accommodating four cruise vessels and handling many thousands of passengers simultaneously was a challenge we were ready for at the port and we succeeded in ensuring smooth anchorage for the large vessels.”

Dubai Cruise Terminal was recently voted, for the fifth time, the World’s Leading Cruise Port at the prestigious World Travel Awards 2011, competing against 17 regional winners for the honour.

The card payment provider reported a 37 per cent increase in spending during the first week of the DSF this month, with 18 per cent of that estimated to be as a result of a rise in the use of cards in the UAE.

Karim Beg, the head of marketing for Visa in the Middle East, said there were many reasons for the increase in spending, including growing confidence among consumers.

“There’s the positive sentiment in the economy, there’s the fact that [Visa has] been associated with DSF for 16 years … and the fact that Dubai has been promoting inbound tourism,” he said.

Visa is one of the major sponsors of the DSF and has been marketing the event globally in other parts of the world, including Asia.

It reported a huge increase in tourist spending during the festival last year compared with 2010, with Chinese tourists spending almost double on Visa cards.

Hotels have reported an increase in bookings, and raised room rates for the month-long festival, which runs for another two weeks.

Total additional retail, travel and hospitality spending in the Dubai economy as a result of the DSF this year is expected to eclipse last year’s figure of Dh15.1 billion (US$4.11bn), of which Dh5.9bn was spent by regional and international visitors, according to the Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment (Depe), the body that organises the DSF.

The Depe spent Dh70 million in the past year on promoting the DSF through local events and overseas at roadshows in London, the wider GCC and Asia.

The total number of visitors to the DSF has increased from 1.6 million in 1996, its first year, to 3.5 million last year.

Visa estimates spending on cards on shopping, hotels, entertainment and restaurants during the DSF increased to $406m last year, from $297m in 2010.

Spending on cards, such as debit, credit and prepaid, is growing rapidly, but still makes up a much smaller proportion of buying compared with cash.

“Cash payments are still the largest single payment method in the region,” Mr Beg said.

“If you go to other countries, it’s even bigger [than the UAE].”

Visa said it had noted 15 per cent growth in debit card use in the past year.

Some retailers were wary that the timing of this year’s festival, which began two weeks earlier than usual, would mean shoppers spent less because they had only just finished spending on festive holidays such as Eid Al Adha and Christmas, but Visa dismissed those anxieties.

“The consumer confidence in the UAE is definitely higher than the rest of the world,” said Maysara Ghadban, the Visa head of marketing communication for the Middle East and North Africa.

“We are not wanting people to spend more, we want them to spend in a more rewarding way.”

At a news conference on Tuesday, airline and airport officials unveiled details of the daily service, which they said was slated to begin on Feb. 2.

“It marks the first time that we have nonstop service to the Middle East. And that has been a key strategical of DFW Airport for some time,” said DFW Airport CEO Jeffrey Fegan.

The new service will not only be more convenient for passengers, officials said, but will also bring about $227 million in revenue to DFW.

Emirates has been flying from Glasgow since 2004 and this increases capacity by 47%, an extra 199 seats each way.

It will generate up to 12 new direct jobs and it is claimed indirectly support many others with Emirates’ contracted suppliers.

Emirates said the move illustrated the company’s commitment to Scotland.

The Dubai-based group claimed the extra flight would generate “millions in visitor revenue, contributing to the overall Scottish economy”.

Laurie Berryman, Emirates’ vice president UK & Ireland, said: “Our Glasgow route has been a real success story, and we are extremely confident that there is the demand for additional services flying east to Dubai and onward to our global network of over 115 destinations.

“The service brings real benefits to Scotland’s economy and its international competitiveness.”

Since it started flying from Glasgow seven years ago Emirates has carried more than 1.7 million passengers and more than 46 million kilos of cargo to and from the Middle East and beyond.

Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said: “Since its launch in 2004, Emirates’ Dubai route has proved hugely successful with business and leisure passengers and its decision to introduce a second daily service is fantastic news for both Glasgow Airport and Scotland as a whole.”

Emirates is also to introduce a first class cabin onto both daily services, which is the first time this has been offered by a commercial airline from Scotland.

The company signalled at the end of last year that it had plans to expand with immediate orders for another 190 aircraft.

After the launch of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Buenos Aires in Argentina on 3rd January 2012, the Irish capital took its position as Emirates’ 118th destination, opening up a new efficient channel via Dubai to key markets such as Australia, India, Thailand, China and the Philippines.

Emirates will serve Dublin daily with an A330-200, providing First Class, Business Class and Economy Class travel. EK 0161 leaves Dubai at 0700hrs daily and arrives at Dublin Airport’s Terminal 2 at 1130hrs. EK 0162 departs Dublin at 1255hrs and lands in Dubai at 0025hrs the next day.

On board today’s inaugural flight from Dubai were Tim Clark, President, Emirates airline; Salem Obaidalla, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe & Russian Federation; Ram Menen, Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President-Cargo; Ciaran Madden, Ireland’s Ambassador to the UAE; Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport; Colm McLoughlin, Vice Chairman, Dubai Duty Free and Niall Gibbons, CEO Tourism Ireland.

Turning those dunes into the thriving community envisioned for the 227-hectare man-made peninsula remains a challenge for Drydocks and Maritime World, the Dubai World subsidiary leading the project.

“It’s surprising any developer would go forward in this market unless they have funding in place and end-user demand,” said Craig Plumb, the head of Middle East and North Africa research for the property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle.

Some of the developers introduced yesterday said they were still negotiating final details of their deals with Drydocks. Construction is not expected to begin until the end of next year.

“In principle, there seems to be an agreement in place,” said Sawan Ravani, the director of Kensington Global, which is planning a hotel. “We are acknowledging each other’s difficulties.”

Most of the developers bought the land before 2008, when Dubai’s market began to slump and many projects around the emirate were delayed or cancelled.

Drydocks did not lower the prices, but it has been offering developers flexible payment plans and the opportunity to reduce the size of their developments.

“We looked at ways to reconfigure proposals and create added value for them and value for ourselves,” said Khamis Juma Buamim, the chairman of Drydocks and Maritime World.

Maritime City will commit $300 million over the next five years to develop the project, Mr Buamim said.

Drydocks this year launched the Marine Industrial District Operation, which provides repairs and shipbuilding facilities. Operations at Al Jadaf and Dubai Maritime City generated $25m this year, Mr Buamim said.

Drydocks yesterday named only five of the six developers it said were moving forward. In addition to Kensington, the other developers named are Sheth Developers, Sanali Global, Dubai Investments Real Estate and Swift Development, a subsidiary of the Apex Group, a US conglomerate with interests in oil, natural gas and shipping.

“We wanted to go ahead anyway,” said John Warner, the director of operations in the Middle East for the Apex Group. “It suits our purpose to have a headquarters in Dubai.”

Drydocks has shifted focus of the Maritime City to the energy and oil and gas sectors, Mr Buamim said.

“The opportunities presented by maritime [are] quite large,” he said. Developers present at the ceremony yesterday said Maritime City offered several advantages over existing projects, including waterfront locations, established infrastructure and a location in central Dubai.

The project will also benefit from the emirate’s growing tourism business and a projected increase in passenger ships docking at nearby Port Rashid.

Maritime City is expected to include one of the largest marinas in Dubai. “If they have maritime-related demand, it makes sense,” Mr Plumb said.

This was stated by Dubai Chamber’s second vice-chairman Hisham Al Shirawi at the chamber’s fourth economic seminar of 2011 on Monday.

Al Shirawi said that between January and November exports and re-exports reached Dh225 billion in comparison to Dh193.4 billion registered during the same period last year while the monthly data shows that members’ exports and re-exports in November valued at Dh18.9 billion with an increase of 2.4 per cent in contrast to November 2010.

The certificates of origin issued by Dubai Chamber from January to November this year reached 639,000, which clearly showed the strong performance of the trade sector this year, he added.

The seminar is one of the initiatives to provide members with up-to-date information and statistics about current economic conditions, which help them make right business decisions. This latest economic seminar imparts valuable information which businesses can use to expand their trade and be a competitive force in the business world, he added. The seminar discussed two important topics: Europe Economic Prospects for 2012 and Africa’s Economic Takeoff and Sustainability.

The first presentation stated that the majority of advanced economies are experiencing slow recovery along with persistent unemployment rates and financial vulnerability which are ultimately affecting the consumers’ purchasing power and investment by businesses. It further stated that the GCC countries are better placed than their European counterparts due to the banks’ liquidity and the resilient economic growth which is projected for 2012 on the back of rising oil production.

The presentation revealed that Dubai’s core activities of tourism, trade, and retail sales will be the key drivers for economic growth in 2012. Most importantly however, the banks in UAE have now firmly repositioned themselves to withstand the European sovereign debt crisis. In addition, according to the latest figures the real estate market in the UAE appears to have bottomed out, and significant progress has been made in corporate restructuring but the sector’s solid economic growth, the presentation said, is subject to the expected turnaround in the real estate market.

Based on the latest forecasts by the International Institute of Finance the UAE economy will grow by 4.4 per cent in 2011, speeding down to 3.1 per cent in 2012. The average headline inflation in the country is forecasted to marginally increase to 0.9 per cent in 2011 reaching 2.1 per cent in 2012. In regional comparison, UAE economy will be among the fastest growing countries in the GCC region 
in 2011.

The second presentation examined Africa’s economic outlook and potential business opportunities that the UAE and Dubai businesses can benefit from. It discussed the continent’s population growth, which will reach 1.5 billion by 2050 and estimated that 200 million Africans will enter consumer goods markets with rising spending power.

The continent has weathered the global downturn better than most other parts of the world and is projected to grow by 5.1 per cent and 5.8 per cent in 2011 and 2012, 
respectively — faster than Latin America and other advanced 
economies.

The growth of the continent is considered to be robust and healthy as the average inflation rate is reduced from 27 per cent in the 1990s to less than 8 per cent between 2003 and 2007 and projected to be around six per cent for coming next five years.

As a result of the persistent economic growth, many sectors in the African region are booming and flourishing, such as telecom, banking, retailing and construction. Africa’s growth is accredited to a bunch of factors that include government decisions to end wars, prudent macroeconomic management and creating favourable business environment, and reorientation of the countries’ trade towards emerging markets, infrastructure spending which amounted to about $45.3 billion a year and absorbed about 5 per cent of total GDP in 2009, private sector participation in infrastructure represented about 21 per cent of total infrastructure investments.

This remarkable economic prospect bears huge trade and investment opportunities for UAE businesses. In its conclusion, the presentation stated that given the UAE historical relationship with the country and the current policy direction to trade and investments in Africa it is expected that the UAE businesses and economy will benefits significantly from doing business with Africa.

Customers can access Wi-Fi in sky onboard flight using Wi Fi enabled devices including smartphones, tablets and laptops.

All customers have to do is open up their device’s wireless connections, log on to the OnAir network and follow the simple steps to access the internet. As part of a proving phase, customers onboard many A380 have been using the service for many months already as the system was installed and activated on the first few A380s last year.

All three emirates have been making significant investments in infrastructure to support cruise tourism facilities and services in the country. Abu Dhabi has erected a new tented cruise terminal at Mina Zayed, Dubai is reshaping Port Rashid and Sharjah is focusing on Khorfakkan to attract around 700,000 cruise visitors during this season.

Dubai will take the lead in total cruise visitors as it is expected to welcome 475,000 passengers at Port Rashid during this season. The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, or DTCM, forecasts a steady growth for the next four years with 625,000 passengers by 2015, a 38 per cent increase over 2010 figures.

Realising the potential in cruise tourism, DP World is expanding Port Rashid cruise terminal facilities to continue its leading position as the largest cruise centre in the Middle East. It will expand the current facilities by the end of 2012 to cater for as many as five cruise ships at one time, against its current capacity of accommodating only two ships.

“Development of the cruise terminal facilities at Port Rashid supports Dubai’s long-term strategy to stimulate growth and development in the traditionally strong tourism sector,” DP World chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem recently said in an e-mailed statement to 
Khaleej Times. He said the new facility will help Dubai tap into the rapidly-growing cruise sector and will continue to be a major destination for the finest cruise ships in the world.

Cruise tourism is a key growth segment which will bring great economic benefits to the region, increasing overall expenditure in the tourism sector and boosting the economy. According to DTCM, cruise tourism saw an annual income of Dh338 million in 2010 and is estimated to grow to Dh837 million in 2015. This will see a yield of Dh3.5 billion into Dubai’s economy over those years.

Abu Dhabi acting fast

The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, or ADTA, in collaboration with industry stakeholders Abu Dhabi Ports Company, or ADPC, and Abu Dhabi Terminals, is also increasing investing in cruise terminal facilities. The ADTA has prioritised cruise tourism as one of its five 2011-2012 strategy pillars and likely to receive around 170,000 tourists before the season ends in April next year. In line with its long-term cruise ambitions, the ADTA is planning to replace the tented terminal with a purpose-built cruise terminala at Mina Zayed as the emirate realises its aim to become a regional cruise hub.

“Cruise shipping has enjoyed strong recession-proof growth for many years,” ADTA director-general Mubarak Al Muhairi told             Khaleej Times at the launch ceremony of new cruise terminal at Mina Zayed in October.

Capt Mohamed Al Shamisi, ADPC’s vice-president (operations) of ports unit, hoped the cruise business will continue to grow to 300 calls and 600,000 passengers by 2030.

“Ultimately, our capacity to build the cruise tourism business will rely on a combination of good planning, good infrastructure, strong marketing and industry co-operation,” Al Muhairi said.