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The Middle East: it is a Janus-faced region of the
world. It holds a reputation around the world for being
war torn and the home of terrorism, but it is a place
that has also been seeing some of the most outstanding
tourist growth that has been seen in the world in the
past decade. Despite the constant threat of nuclear
attack from Iran, the ongoing tension between Israel and
Lebanon and continued terrorist attacks, travel and
tourism to the Middle East in 2006 is expected to have
generated around USD148 billion, and this figure is
expected to double in ten years.
One of the most prominent drawcards of this region is
Dubai. Visitors continue to pour into the oil rich city
which is said to be the fastest growing place on earth.
It currently looks like one big construction site, but
once the projects are done, visitors will be able to see
the results of the USD1.58 billion government budget
surplus in 2005. The massive shopping malls galore are
not the only drawcard for this city – there is the
attraction of year-round sunshine, key conferences such
as CITEX and Cityspace and its close proximity to Europe
means that it is a sunny holiday destination that does
not require a whole day spent on an aircraft. Of course
there are the token tourist attractions such as the
world’s tallest tower, the largest shopping mall and
other excessively large buildings that would bring
visitors to this region.
But what the Middle East is really trying to establish
themselves as an international sporting destination.
This has been spurred on by Bahrain’s role as the long
standing host of the Middle Eastern leg of the Formula
One Grand Prix and Doha’s hosting of the Asian Games in
December. As the Middle East is building itself up to be
a place where international sporting events are hosted,
it seems that the countries within are also competing
against each other to become the Middle East’s sporting
capital.
As Bahrain International Circuit’s manager of sports
marketing and sponsorship Hisham Abu Al Fateh commented:
“The Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix is the Middle East’s
only F1 race and we want this event to be a shining
example of the region’s emergence as a hub for motor
sports”, while the plans for the Dubai Sports City were
unveiled earlier this month making it the world's first
ever fully-integrated purpose built sports city.
Either
way, this competition between cities will do great
things for the region’s attempt’s to refocus its wealth
away from the oil industries and into the rapidly
expanding tourism sector. They have seen the potential
of world-class sporting events as a drawcard for
travellers from around the world. This will not only
change the nature of Middle Eastern politics, but will
also make a shift in the way that the rest of the world
perceives the historically war torn region. It was predicted by the World Tourism Organisation that the region will see an average annual growth rate of 6.7% - a number that is the highest in the world and a number that will see 68.5 million international visitor arrivals by 2020.
Despite these exciting numbers, some forward thinkers are already questioning the sustainability of this growth rate. Many in the industry are already looking at eco-tourism and more environmentally-friendly practises. This fear will be exacerbated as the already skyrocketing numbers of luxury hotels increase, demanding a greater number of trained staff and affecting the chance that natural habitats have to regenerate and grow.
It seems that the Middle East’s reputation as an exotic and unexplored destination overrides any tourists’ fears of terrorism or danger. This should prove to be the biggest drawcard for countries in this region attempting to make their mark in the tourism industry, and while it looks like they can only go up, this region should be careful not to miss the mark and focus on development that will destroy their biggest attraction – the beauty and culture of their land.