Pushing the region

Dubai. Dubai is picking up speed, and so too are its police: With each officer in a Mercedes SLS AMG, Ferrari FF, Bentley Continental GT Coupe, Aston Martin ONE77 or Lamborghini Aventador, they pursue criminals - and distribute penalty notices to speeding drivers and illegally parked vehicles. Indeed, the fancy cars stole the show at this week's 20th Arabian Travel Market hosted by Dubai. They advertised the Dubai's intention to host the World Expo 2020 outside the trade fair halls. A decision here will be taken this coming November. If Dubai were to secure the event, hospitality experts will also celebrate the decision like a lottery win. Dubai again has as many plans as it did in the good times. Behind everything though, there's still a question mark. This time too, nobody knows precisely what will become of the new mega-projects. Only one thing is certain: Dubai continues to build sensitively on its lead in the Middle East. The other Emirates and Arabian countries have jumped to support Dubai as driver and combine all their horse power. Airlines provide the volumes, the destinations the force and the hotel industry follows the trend. Europe would be well-advised to take a very close look at this mechanism.

Dubai. The hotel investment climate in the Middle East and North Africa maybe improving, but the financial crisis in Europe, anemic appetite of MENA lenders to dabble in property financing and lack of transparency over hotel transactions is deterring genuine pickup. While sentiment to hotel investments has improved with the stellar performance in cities such as Dubai and Riyadh, banks have not been quick to complement the rosier outlook, said speakers at the "Arabian Hotel Investment Conference" that recently took place in Dubai.

Dubai. Nearly a year and a half since the revolution wave in the Arab world began in December 2010, the hospitality sector in the region is still teetering as countries that have toppled regimes such as Egypt and Tunisia grapple with the path to democracy and economic recovery. The struggle to return to pre-Arab revolution tourism figures was evident this year in the "Arabian Hotel Investment Conference" taking place in Dubai last weekend, with the absence of big names from international hotel groups and a smaller crowd than last year.