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Tourism growth in Dubai
Tourism growth in Dubai
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Introduction
The hospitality industry of Dubai has been contributing significantly to the growth of Dubai’s economy. Tourism sector of Dubai has emerged as an important contributor to the economic growth of Dubai. Dubai has become one of the major tourist destinations within the map of global tourism.
Every year huge number of tourists from all over the world come to visit this city. Dubai has been attracting business people, shoppers as well as tourists on account of its status of being a politically and economically safe place and the increasing relevance of the region (Kumar, 2011; Dubai Chamber, 2014).
Current trend in tourism growth in Dubai
According to a report published by Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Cited in Travel and Tourism News Middle East, 2010), the year of 2010 had experienced a huge growth in tourism in the emirate. For example, the first half of 2010 had registered a growth of 9 percent in the number of hotel guests compared to that during the first half of 2009. According to a report of Dubai Chamber published in 2014, the year 2012 had experienced an annual growth of around 17 percent in the hotel and restaurants sector of Dubai thereby making this sector the highest growing sector of Dubai’s economy (Dubai Chamber, 2014). Till now, the tourism sector of Dubai has been maintaining the growth momentum in its tourism sector. According to a recent report published in ZAWYA in the web portal of HSBC Global Connections, the first half of 2014 registered significant growth in the hospitality sector of Dubai. The number of visitors during the first half of 2014 stood at 5.8 million, while the number was 5.5 million during the first half of 2013. There has been steady growth in hotel sectors with 6.7 percent increase in the number of hotels and 4.2 percent increase in the number of hotel apartments in the first half of 2014 while comparing with the first half of 2013. Another interesting point made by Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Cited in ZAWYA , 2014) was that increase in the length of stay of visitors has been one of the major drivers of tourism growth in Dubai.
Along with growth in hotels and hotel apartments, average room rate has also shot up in Dubai. During the first five months of 2014, average room rate in Dubai was around US$305 which had been US$296 during the first five months of 2013 (ZAWYA , 2014). The occupancy rates in hotels have also been amazing in the recent time with the first six months of 2014 recording an occupancy rate of 85 percent (ZAWYA , 2014).
Factors driving tourism growth in Dubai
Given the rising trend of growth in the tourism sector of Dubai, it would be really interesting to figure out the factors that have contributed to the growth of tourism sector in Dubai.
One of the major factors behind the growth in tourism is the growth of population in UAE as well as in the entire GCC region that has been contributing to the rise in inter-regional travel within the GCC (Oates, 2014).
Given the declining reserves of oil, the UAE government has now been increasingly focusing on other sectors for having sustainable economic growth in future, such as in tourism sector (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2012). For example, in these efforts, the UAE government is expected to make an investment of more than US $300 billion in tourism related infrastructure (Oates, 2014; World Travel & Tourism Council, 2012). The improved infrastructure of UAE has been able to attract more tourists to Dubai.
Dubai has been trying to become the connecting node between Asia and South America that will significantly affect mobility on a global scale and thus will also contribute to further rise in tourism in Dubai (Oates, 2014). In this context, the Gateway effect can be considered to be a major factor behind tourism growth in Dubai. The GCC, mainly Dubai has emerged as a gateway to the US and South American countries as well as is fast becoming a new gateway for African nations to Asian passengers. Thus, Dubai has been experiencing a huge stopover traffic that has also been contributing to the growth in the hospitality sector of Dubai.
Future of tourism in Dubai
Looking at the current trend and the factors affecting tourism growth in Dubai, it seems that the tourism sector will continue to grow significantly in future as well. According to a report published by Dubai Chamber (2014), the travel and tourism sector of UAE is predicted to experience an annual growth of 4.1 percent with Dubai being the main destination of travel in the country. Given the rising importance of tourism sector in this region, Dubai Chamber also predicted a huge increase in capital investment in tourism sector as well that will further improve tourism related infrastructure and will thereby attract more visitors from all over the world in future. Another major driver of future growth in the tourism sector would be the Expo 2020 that will be held in Dubai. The UAE government is planning to make an investment of US$8 billion on infrastructure for hosting the event (ZAWYA, 2014). This kind of development in infrastructure is expected to further strengthen Dubai’s reputation as a premium tourist destination.
However, some downside risks should also be taken into account while talking about future growth of tourism in Dubai. For example, as pointed out by IMF (Cited in ZAWYA, 2014), some potential cost overruns at the time of infrastructure development mainly in the context of Expo 2020 in Dubai might bring in some distortions to macroeconomic stability of the region. Besides, some possible oversupply of property in the tourism sector also poses a risk to be taken into account. While concentrating on infrastructural development, the debt related issue should also be taken into account as increasing debt may significantly affect economic stability. Hence, the government needs to conduct a feasibility study before making huge investment mainly in the context of Expo 2020 by taking into account how Expo related infrastructural facilities would be used after the event. This can help in mitigating the risks and helping the tourism sector in a positive way.
References
Kumar, B.R. (2011). Tourism in Dubai: The Sunrise Sector. Middle East Journal of Business, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 15-16.
Travel and Tourism News Middle East. (2010). Dubai Continues growth as tourism hotspot. [online]. Available at HYPERLINK “http://www.ttnworldwide.com/Article/10335/Dubai_continues_growth_as_tourism_hotspot” http://www.ttnworldwide.com/Article/10335/Dubai_continues_growth_as_tourism_hotspot [Accessed 6th January, 2015].
Dubai Chamber. (May 5, 2014). Dubai Chamber analysis forecasts strong growth in UAE tourism sector. [online]. Available at HYPERLINK “http://www.dubaichamber.com/en/news/dubai-chamber-analysis-forecasts-strong-growth-in-uae-tourism-sector” http://www.dubaichamber.com/en/news/dubai-chamber-analysis-forecasts-strong-growth-in-uae-tourism-sector [Accessed 5th January, 2015].
World Travel & Tourism Council. (2012). Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2012 United Arab Emirates. [online]. Available at HYPERLINK “http://wttc.org/site_media/uploads/downloads/united_arab_emirates2012.pdf” http://wttc.org/site_media/uploads/downloads/united_arab_emirates2012.pdf [Accessed on 4th January, 2015].
ZAWYA. (2014). Trend in Dubai Tourism Industry. [Online]. HSBC Global Connections. Available at HYPERLINK “https://globalconnections.hsbc.com/uae/en/articles/trends-dubais-tourism-industry” https://globalconnections.hsbc.com/uae/en/articles/trends-dubais-tourism-industry [Accessed on 6th January, 2015].
Oates, G. (2014). 5 Reasons Why Tourism is Poised to Explode in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. [Online]. Available at HYPERLINK “http://skift.com/2014/06/23/5-reasons-why-tourism-is-poised-to-explode-in-dubai-and-abu-dhabi/” http://skift.com/2014/06/23/5-reasons-why-tourism-is-poised-to-explode-in-dubai-and-abu-dhabi/[Accessed on 2nd January, 2015].
Tourism destination management
Tourism destination management
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Date:Tourism destination management
Chapter Four
The destination management roles comprise marketing, promotion, partnership, teambuilding and community relations. Marketing and promotion help in visitor identification, profiling and market analysis. Partnerships compare benefits of other destinations while community relations collect tourism attitudes among members. The destination management agenda involves ongoing, periodic and as-needed research. Employing classic research model ensures reliability and accuracy of Destination Research Management Process (DRMP). The research process follows the ordinary research methods. Primary research is either quantitative or qualitative done by DMO staff while secondary entails internal and external types. The research highlights the visitor profile study objectives. A survey is important to get opinions of visitors from Scotland, New Zealand, Canada, India and South Africa. The image of the destination is analyzed to determine their attributes and function. Definition of image formation agents offers broad knowledge on their operations. Brand image provides the strengths of the tourism destination alongside the attitudes of the host community. Satisfaction of exiting tourists will boost the image of the destination. The research project for product development can be people, packaging, programming and physical products. Economic impacts to Australia and New Zealand are determined through multipliers and satellite accounting. Crouch (2007) provides the theoretical model to approach competitors. Performance measurement allows DMOs to compare results, efforts, goals and plans.
Chapter Five
Destination product is the interaction of people, packages and programs. The components of the product are customer perceptions and product behavior. The tourism area life cycle starts from exploration, involvement, development, consolidation, stagnation and decline or rejuvenation. Its impact is attention to tangibles and resource allocation. The DMO can be a bystander, instigator, partner or facilitator with roles varying from specialty, history and tourism opportunities. Hard product components are people, physical products and programming while soft products are people, packaging and programming. Destination quality is important since it involves service quality, dimensions and managing dimensions. Tourism packaging adds value, efficiency, appeal and consistent quality. Programming benefits allows for active participation, new markets, attract special interest markets and adds excitement. Visitors’ information centers recommends itineraries, bookings, high per capita spending and interpretation of culture and history. I believe that the DMO has wider opportunities to catalyze sustainability, encourage operators, assure residents of continued returns and provide greater recognition to product development and engagement. Competition is intensifying hence need for recognition of tourism marketing, partnerships and product development.
Reference list
Morrison A M 2009, Marketing and managing tourism destinations: Chapter Four and Five: Shutterstock, Inc.
Tourism at Daylesford
Tourism at Daylesford
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Introduction
Daylesford is a small town situated between Castlemaine and Creswick. The town is found in a region that is the home to Australia’s largest number of natural mineral springs. The popularity of this town goes back as early as gold rush of 1851 when the alluvial gold was discovered. The town of Daylesford was surveyed in 1854. The town’s initial growth was due to thousands of workers who were looking for gold but the town later became famous of the bubbling mineral water from its many springs together with its neighboring Hepburn Springs. Daylesford is a major tourist and holiday destination offering an alternative lifestyle to those who want to move from other Australian towns. The town is well-known for the world class physical and spiritual wellness services including massages, spa treatments and acupuncture (Travel Victoria., 2010). The town of Daylesford has a commercial centre along Albert Street and Vincent Street. There are magnificent collections of historical structures like the post office that was build in 1861 and town hall that was built in 1882 and several shops and hotels.
Current and Forecast Levels of Activity,
The experience you get in this town is unforgettable as the streets are arrayed with trees that explode into a rage of beautiful colors during the autumn season. Another attraction centre is Lake Daylesford, created in 1929, occupies the land where gold was first discovered and it is surrounded by stunning Central Springs Reserves located just a few meters from the town centre. Already there is a café constructed beside the lake where visitors can have their meals. There are also picnic spots, several mineral springs and walking tracks. For those who want to go fishing, jetties and boats are available for hire. Another lake that offers a scenic feature in Daylesford is Jubilee Lake constructed in 1860 located a few kilometers from Daylesford. Here activities like fishing, boating and swimming attract visitors.
Wombat Hills Botanical Gardens, established in 1863 is few minutes walk to the East of town centre. These gardens are located on an extinct volcano and provide good scenery of the neighboring countryside from its well-tended pathways and lawns. The gardens also offer an exemplary lookout tower and conservancy (Travel Victoria, 2010).
Visitors come from all over the world to experience the nourishment of their bodies and souls from Australia’s largest centre of spa and wellness products. The future of this tourist centre in Australia is prospective in that more campaigns are geared towards promoting the number of people from inside and outside Australia who visit these marvelous sites. Currently, most of the visitors are persons who are above forty and it is expected that this will change as more young people looking for wellbeing of their minds, body and soul become interested. Also family groups, girls looking for weekend out will increase (Tourism Victoria, 2010).
Expenditure by Visitors
In 2009, Tourism Research Australia’s International Visitor Survey showed that Victoria, the province where Daylesford is located recorded a decrease in the number of visitors. According to the survey, Victoria received 1.5 million visitors as by September 2009 which was only 1 percent increase in international overnight visitation. However, this was better when compared to other states like New South Wales (-5.7%) and Queensland (-5.5).
Conversely, international visitor nights increased by 14.2 percent to 37.7 millions nights in the same period. This figure represented 22 percent of the market share. The increase in the number of international visitors’ nights was highly contributed by increase in the number of visiting relatives and friends, students and for other purposes. However there was a 16 percent decrease in the business segment, a sign that the business sector is still yet to recover from the global economic crisis and they are trading carefully on conferences and travel.
Daylesford and Macedon Ranges is among the regions in Victoria that have recorded a year to year increase in international overnight visitor number with 10.2 percent. The region that recorded the highest increase is Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges (15.7%) while Philip Island recorded 2.7 percent.
Generally, international visitor expenditure in the whole of Victoria region recorded a 14.3% increase. This means the region experienced a large percentage of high spending visitors. For example, the number of Chinese visitors decreased by 5.7 percent but the expenditure by these visitors increased by 32.1 percent to $494 million from last year figures (Vecci, 2009).
Employment generated
Tourism directly employs around fifty percent of the Daylesford population with the rest of the population engaging in other services like medical, trading, and other services. Tourism is the key driver of the region economy. When gold mining ended in the early 1920s, tourism sector has dominated in this region and even in the future the tourism sector will continue to employ a great number of people both from the local communities and outside.
Natural advantages and disadvantages
Daylesford has natural advantages in that it is was the first place in Australia where gold was discovered. This allowed the town to grow faster than its neighbors. In addition, visitors are attracted by the mineral and geothermal springs at Shire. These natural features are complemented by the world class spa resorts and wellness facilities. All these, plus the historical streetscapes, entertainment, fabulous art or a game of golf will make a visitor to tell a friend and come again. The presence of gold in the 19th century proved to be disadvantage to this region since the miners left the landscape that cannot be used for agricultural activities or real estate. The mining holes left open are also risky to the lives of the inhabitants and animals.
Past and Current Social Impacts
In Daylesford, tourism is a valuable sector and it contributes significantly to both local ands national economy. Most families in this region depend exclusively on income from tourism. Like any other economic activity, tourism has negative impacts on the local communities. There are concerns that the great number of international tourists visiting this region might affect the cultural identity of the local people. These fears are based on the observations from other popular tourists’ centers in the world where the locals have compromised their identity and adopted exotic cultures. However, these fears may not be well grounded because research shows that tourists visit Australia to experience the true character and personality of our towns.
Most of the negative social impacts of tourism are associated with the uncontrolled and massive tourism growth. Tourism is mainly dominated by private enterprises with a purpose of making profit through selling experiences. Sustainable tourism may be difficult to achieve much leading to environmental, social and cultural consequences. Some of the main issues that tourism at Daylesford is likely to cause may seem insignificant but can really affect the lives of the local. Tourists intrude on daily life, loss of privacy as a community and a sense of overcrowding in social amenities. This makes the local feel annoyed by tourism development
Tourism can positively contribute to the social welfare of the local communities if they can change their mentality on tourism. Tourism can be used as an interface for cultural exchange making it possible for different communities and visitors both international and domestic to interact. This will allow them to learn about other people’s traditions and even come across new perception of life and society.
Another positive social contribution of tourism is raising awareness on the local brands and achievements. By selling local products to visitors it does not only have an economic benefit but also it helps to create a brand that is recognized nationally and internationally. When visitors come to visit the local the identify with a problem that could be existing in the community and raise awareness of the issues when they go back to their homes and this can get to the attention of the right people who will help to solve.
Tourism can also boost the conservation and transmission of historical and cultural traditions. This will contribute to the protection and sustainable management of natural resources, the protection of indigenous heritage, and a restoration of indigenous cultures, cultural arts and crafts(Gawler Visitor Information Centre, 2006).
Past and current environmental impacts and your recommendations for investing
With the increase in the number of visitors coming to Daylesford, there have been some negative impacts to the ecology. Most of the studies that have been done, do report on the impact of tourism activities only on the economic side ignoring the environmental dangers of these activities. It is important to analyze the impact of these activities because their rate of increase has gone up and they will negatively affect the economic activities if they are not addressed well (Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, 2010).
In the past, Daylesford authorities have ignored the environmental regulations that have been put in place by both local and national environmentalists which seek to protect natural features from damaged. This has contributed to the degradation from the huge and diverse demands placed on the environment by the large number of tourists who visit the natural sites like springs and lakes. There are three main areas of ecology that tourism in Daylesford has affected (Wong, 2005).
Fresh water is very important resource to any community whether a visitor or host. The increases in visitors have seen a rise in the misuse of fresh water in hotels, swimming pools golf courses and personal water by visitors. This might lead to water shortages and disruption of water supplies in future. It also leads to generation of larger volumes of waste water.
Tourism can also cause pressure on local resources like food, energy and other products that are on short supply. For example, people came to this land of Daylesford more than 150 years ago and depleted all the gold reserves and then left hazardous landscape that is inhabitable. Their activities led to land degradation. The current construction of tourism facilities has also increased pressure on the remaining land and this may affect even the scenic landscape that attract the tourists hence removing the essence of visiting these destination.
Air pollution has continued to increase as more air, road and rail traffic bombard this region with visitors. The carbon emissions from the transport of tourists will therefore also contribute the rise in global warming. Noise pollution from air planes has also gone up (Environmental Impacts of Tourism, 2008).
Investments Recommendations
Daylesford and Macedon Ranges offers more diversified investment opportunities than any other time in history because new sectors like art, retailing, health and community services have rapidly grown. If one invests in one of these sectors he or she will benefit from the rising number of tourists who prefer these destinations.
In addition to these services, there are still opportunities for development of high quality and large capacity accommodation with spa and well-being product. Development of tourism products associated with natural mineral water is another profitable sector (Tourism Victoria, 2008).
Conclusion
There are several reasons to visit Daylesford and Macedon Ranges for either day or night visitors. During the days visitors usually visit the market and explore mineral springs while the night visitors have are more focused on the spending emotive time together with their partner. If one wants to relax and rejuvenate; get the best experience of food and wine; luxury and indulgence as well as experience art and culture, then this is the best choice. The biggest percentage of visitors comes primarily because of the mineral springs as they are among the unique features in the whole country. Tourism has brought Daylesford both economical and social benefits although there is a great threat in the environment of the region if the local authorities of this town do not take appropriate measures to curb the impact of tourist explosion and construction.
References
Environmental Impacts of Tourism. (2008). Retrieved October 28, 2010, from http://www.gdrc.org/uem/eco-tour/envi/index.html
Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism. (2010) Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges Visitor Profile and Satisfaction Report: Summary of results. Retrieved October 28, 2010, from http://www.ret.gov.au/tourism/Documents/tra/Destination%20Visitor%20Survey/VPS_Victoria_Daylesford_acc_FINAL.pdf
Gawler Visitor Information Centre. (2006). The Social & Cultural Impacts of Tourism. Retrieved October 28, 2010, from http://www.gawler.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/5_Gawler_Impacts_Tourism.PDF
Tourism Victoria. (2010). Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges. Retrieved October 28, 2010, from http://www.tourism.vic.gov.au/marketing/marketing/daylesford-and-the-macedon-ranges/
Travel Victoria. (2010). Daylesford Information & Attractions. Retrieved October 28, 2010, from http://www.travelvictoria.com.au/daylesford/
Tourism Victoria (2008). Regional Tourism Action Plan 2009 – 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2010, from http://www.tourism.vic.gov.au/images/stories/Documents/StrategiesandPlans/Regional-Tourism-Action-Plan-2009-2012.pdf
Vecci. (11 December, 2009). Mixed results from latest International Visitor Survey.
Retrieved October 28, 2010, from http://www.vecci.org.au/news/Pages/Mixed_results_from_latest_International_Visitor_Survey.aspx
Wong, C. (2005).The Environmental Impacts of a Festival: exploring the Application of the Ecological Footprint as a Measuring Tool. University of New South Wales