Dubai continues to dazzle tourists

Dubai (WAM): A UAE paper has said that from the timeless tranquillity of the desert to the lively bustle of the souk, Dubai offers a kaleidoscope of attractions for visitors from around the world and it is little wonder that the Emirate has figured in the world's top 25 destinations of the TripAdvisor's sixth annual Traveller’s Choice awards. "Dubai is a unique destination that is both a dynamic business centre and a tourist paradise, offering shopping, fine dining and quality hotels.", said The Gulf Today in its editorial on Wednesday. The paper quoted CNN as saying that the Traveller’s Choice awards sliced and diced its users' reviews and ratings over 12 months into lists of its most highly recommended global and regional destinations. Hence the selection is apt and adds to the highly credible image of Dubai. It is not just the regular tourists, but even the corporate sector in different countries is taking note of Dubai's varied attractions. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, posted on his Twitter page this week that a Chinese company rewarded 16,000 of its employees with a vacation in the United Arab Emirates. The company is chartering 77 flights and has booked 40 hotels and over 400 tourist guides. In what is considered to be one of the biggest vacations organised by a company for its staff in history and the biggest group of tourists to visit Dubai, the staff from the Nu Skin company have started arriving. The company is transferring its staff in seven batches, 2,000 tourists each. The trip costs millions of dollars. The company has booked 39,514 rooms in 40 hotels and 409 tourist guides. The tour also includes cultural sites in Sharjah. Dubai's hotels enjoyed a busy first nine months of last year, welcoming over 7.9 million visitors between January and September 2013, a 9.8 per cent year-on-year increase. During the first nine months of the year, guest numbers across all hotel establishments (hotels and hotel apartments) reached 7,941,118. Last year, Dubai won the bid to host Expo 2020, a six-month global exhibition that is expected to attract 25 million visitors. Expo-related infrastructure development and operations will cost around Dh 32.39 billion. "Under Dubai's 2020 vision, the number of visitors in the emirate is projected to double from 10 million in 2012 to 20 million by 2020. In order to accommodate the visitors, the number of hotels in Dubai is expected to double. No wonder, Dubai has turned out to be a dream destination for tourists.", concluded the paper. – Emirates News Agency, WAM