Dubailand expected to attract 200,000 visitors a day

The estimated AED18 billion investment in Dubailand, Dubai’s biggest tourism development, will bring in a return on investment of an estimated 200,000 visitors a day into Dubai’s tourism and hospitality sector, according to Salem bin Dasmal, CEO of the project’s management company Dubai Tourism Development Company.

This growth in in-bound business will see tourism play an even greater role in the UAE’s GDP growth, with experts predicting a rise from 12 per cent to 20 per cent thanks to an estimated 15 million tourists a year by 2010.

According to bin Dasmal, Dubailand will encourage private sector inward investment, as well as have radical implications for the bottom line for tourism and hospitality companies that already have sizeable interests in Dubai.

This growth will be discussed at the next meeting of the UAE chapter of the Hotel & Catering International Management Association (HCIMA) on February 9 (at the luxurious Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort & Spa in Dubai). 

Bin Dasmal will give leaders in Dubai’s tourism and hospitality sector on how the 2 billion square feet development will help the emirates achieve further growth in in-bound business.

With more than 18,000 members worldwide, HCIMA is considered the global professional body for the international hospitality industry.

Robert Fadel, HCIMA UAE chairman, said: "The HCIMA promotes the highest professional standards of management and education in the international hospitality industry.

“It was established in 1971, and aims to bring together individuals from all sectors of the hospitality industry – all of whom have a vested interest in further growth for the nation.”