The Middle East is quickly becoming a site of spectacular hotel design firsts and broken records, led by the United Arab Emirates. Dubai's Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, also the Defense Minister of the UAR and president of the Dubai Development & Investment Authority (DDIA), hopes to attract 15 million tourists in 2010, up from 5.24 million in 2003. Why 2010? Sources such as The Economist predict that Dubai's known oil reserves will be tapped by that year. Dubai is racing to pump up new industries, such as tourism.
Gilding the Lily
Currently, well-heeled visitors to Dubai can stay at the luxe Burj Al-Arab, which features a helipad, the world's tallest atrium, and an underwater seafood restaurant. Not far from Dubai, in Abu Dhabi, another of the seven United Arab Emirates, the world's most expensive hotel, the Emirates Palace, opened recently (built at a cost of approximately $3.9 billion). Like the Burj Al-Arab, the Emirates Palace features a helipad, as well as more than a 100 domes and the largest swath of interior, gold-leaf embellishment in the world.
Visitors
1 comment:
just out of curiosity, doesnt the burj al-arab appear on the number plates of vehicles in that city as well?
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