Still a lot of room in the desert

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. With the Arab Spring entering into its third year, tourism prospects in the Middle East and North Africa are divided between 'safe haven' countries like the United Arab Emirates and countries still mired in turmoil, such as Egypt, Tunisia, and Syria. The clear star of the industry is Dubai, which continued to be the hot topic at the annual "Arabian Hotel Investment Conference" which took place last Sunday and Monday. And the first announcement of a deal at the conference was a Wyndham hotel in Dubai, the first for the Wyndham brand in the hotel group, which has other brands operating in the city.