The Expansion of Ski Dubai to Ski Kuwait - Essay Example

?The Expansion of Ski Dubai to Ski Kuwait: A Comparative Business Report Executive Summary: This paper would propose the comparative business studiesand strategies involving the shifting of the famous Ski Dubai, a premier ski resort, attached to the equally famous Emirates Mall of Dubai, to the Avenues Mall of Kuwait. The analysis presents a comprehensive report on the various interrelations between the tourism industries of these two rapidly growing cities. My project will cover the following elements: A study of the host environment, a socio-cultural reading of the various facets of Dubai and Kuwait’s tourism industries. The expected Challenges of such an expansion. The international potential for growth expected from this expansion. A short list of recommendations for assimilation and growth of the business in Kuwait after this momentous shift from Dubai. Introduction The last few decades have seen a startling growth in the tourism industry across the globe, especially the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe. (Steiner 2010) While the large European magnates has captured much of the rapidly expanding tourist business, the United Arabs Emirates are now in the running and quite in the process of creating a giant global tourist industry of its own. Stiff competitions still exist, of course, in the form of varied heritage tourist industries of The Nile Valley of Egypt and Petra of Jordan with their charming classical back-stories, it is nonetheless, evident that the exotic Eastern attractions are now much admired. The Eastern tourism industry is gradually coming into prominence through the sustained development and growth of the Sharm El- Sheikh resort of Egypt and the booming Emirates of Dubai. (Steiner 2010) Ski Dubai: an Overview of the Current Business of the State of Origin From the under developed “barren coastlands largely populated by nomadic tribes” of the 1960s, the United Arab Emirates have come a long way. (Henderson 2006) Dubai, particularly has shifted from being “one of the least developed countries of the world to being the central economic hub of the Middle Eastern tourism industry. (Sharpley 2008) Under the efforts and constant vigilance of the emir Mohammed al-Maktoum, Dubai has become “the global icon for of imagineered urbanism”. (Davies 2007) As countries come to clash over larger market shares, a competitive growth spurt becomes gradually and visibly evident in the global tourism market. (Gooroochurn, Guntur 2005) The tourism industry of Dubai has taken innovations to the next level by bringing forth the extremely inventive and equally lucrative concept of shopping tourism. Dubai and Kuwait both excel in their extensive shopping malls and retails chains sporting numerous global and international brands and thousands of varieties of products, making the United Arab Emirates a central shopping attraction all over the world. Dubai has even created shopping festivals and events to facilitate the growth of this exciting and exclusive brand of tourism industry. (Peter, Anandkumar 2011) Dubai is also unique in its innovative brand management. At the basic level it may be safely said, that Dubai has achieved a peculiar inventiveness of branding that is unmatched in other economic and business centers. Instead of focusing solely on the financial benefits and potential of its market or copying the advantages achieved by other competitive business rivals, Dubai has created innovative offers and goods to lure both investors and customers. It has made itself into a sparkling brand that promises both leisure and financial benefits. (Lee, Jain 2009) The success of Ski Dubai’s tourism business lies in the inventive combination of to extremely popular and attractive forms of tourism – shopping tourism and sports tourism. Located conveniently at the heart of Dubai’s largest retail center, Ski Dubai provides indoor skiing grounds, rings and resort facilities. It is a central part of Dubai’s leisure complex at the Mall of Emirates. The dimensions are hefty and staggering in their splendid decor. Ski Dubai is, in fact, the first Snow center and a major sports tourism business in the Middle East. (Alrifai 2007) In this lies its primary attraction. The structural integrity of Ski Dubai owes as much to its underlying geological foundation as to innovative and skillful engineering and great business acumen. Dubai is prosperous city and the situational facility of the Skiing resort at Ski Dubai owes much to the shopping extravaganza of the Emirates Mall. It is one largest retail centers and the contributive capacity of the resort adds to its economy. However, it must be kept in mind that every business needs to expand in order to grow. Ski Dubai as an up and coming venture must take into account the available resources and occupational chances at Dubai and consider a much broader reach into other states of the United Arab Emirates, such as Kuwait. Recommendations: While one must acknowledge the location and superior business opportunities of Dubai, it is also evident that Ski Dubai has reached its height of economic potential and business saturation at, what Sharpley calls, this “dream world of conspicuous consumption” (2008) and therefore, must consider available opportunities of expansion and growth. (Mazza 7) Ski Kuwait: Description and Justification for Recommendation of the Target State The recent years have seen an inordinate amount of political instability and discord. The Middle East has become a ground of terror and destructive wars. Amidst this geo-political and socio-cultural divide, the carried multifaceted business interests of the United Arab Emirates have suffered immense losses and considerable setbacks. Ski Dubai deflection to Kuwait supports the changing aspects of national and international politics. Kuwait had primarily come into prominence after the Persian Gulf Wars. (Alhemoud, Armstrong 1996) Interestingly, while Dubai is suffering to some extent, despite its own comparative stability, from the recent atmosphere of political, Kuwait is benefiting, in a way, from the same. (Alhemoud, Armstrong 1996) Its history of the Persian Wars has made it more open to International scrutiny and it has benefited from this. Its potential as a target for the growing business of tourism is rooted in its own unfortunate past. Much of its own existing tourism stems, like Dubai, from the extensive shopping malls and retail chains. Shopping tourism, therefore, is in the process of rapid expansion at Kuwait. With the immense riches of natural resources and breath-taking beauty of scenery Kuwait, like Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and other countries of the GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council), has seen great developments in the tourism services which may well become the bestselling export good of the state. (Alhemoud 2003) Recommendations: Kuwait, like Dubai, has secured certain advantages of socio-cultural exposure and economic and business growth with the rapid tourism boom of the late 1980s and 1990s. It has become a potential ground for the expansion of the Ski Kuwait initiative by the virtue of its excellent retail business and trajectory of expansive growth. It boasts of housing the Avenues Mall, the second largest shopping center of the United Arab Emirates, coming second only to the Dubai Mall. Therefore, it is clear, that Kuwait has quite the similar situational facilities as the Mall of Emirates at Dubai. The extensive chains of lucrative shops sporting exciting international brands of numerous varieties of goods is the exact motivation needed to draw large crowds to the potential location of the Ski Kuwait resort at the Avenues Mall. The similar blending of sports recreational facilities along with the attractions of the vast capitalist scopes of shopping tourism has made the Avenues Mall of Kuwait a perfect expansion ground and target economic market for Ski Kuwait. Cultural and Socio-political Background of Kuwait Kuwait forms a part, along with Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, of what is known as GCC or the Gulf Co-operation Council. (Alhemoud 2003) the recent thrust of the GCC has been to develop a tourism industry that is driven towards a sustainable and secure mode to ensure the ecology and geo-economic stability of the desert. (Mahgoub 2007) The desert is an inextricable part of the Middle Eastern experience. (Mahgoub 2007) The prevailing climate is one of seasonal droughts, extreme heat, dryness and little natural vegetation. (Ouis 2011) The incorporation of the Ski Kuwait business with the tourism marks the industrial scope of Kuwait. It can exploit this dry extremity of geology of the GCC countries. The artificial simulation of the snow center will be a primary attraction not only to the international tourists but also, and particularly, to the local patrons. The idea of a resort offering the benefits and lucrative views of a snow capped hill in the middle of the dry lands and desert atmosphere of Kuwait is both a scenic and business innovation. The “ultramodern architecture and the revolutionary landscaping” of the state has been a large contributing factor for the economic boom and industrial growth. (Ouis 2011) there is a kind of intense hyper-reality, as defined in the literary criticism of Baudrillard, associated with the dreamscapes like geological, social and cultural hybrid nature of Kuwait. (Steiner 2010) Kuwait is, of course, an Islamic country. The recent political atmosphere has not been conducive for the inter-relational dynamic and economic stability of the country. The international tourist and cash flow has been slow and not lower than the expected revenues. However, the exoticism and mystique nature of the Islamic culture is very inviting and despite international conflicts still beckons with its own eastern charms. However, the challenges of running a snow sport resort cannot be undermined. (Stephenson, Russell 2004) The strategic blending of Islamic culture and a predominantly European and America past time proves to be tricky. The hospitality industries are slowly renovating their approaches to hospitality managements to retain certain flavor of traditional vibes of the Muslim cultural richness. (Stephenson, Russell 2004) Another feature of the business and socio-cultural profile is the wide marketable availability of cheap labor sources. For the last three decades, the main labor flow has been sustained by the steady influx of foreign and expatriate immigrants. (Sadi, Henderson 2005) Recommendation: The expansion of the Ski Dubai business to Kuwait will not only be of business profitability but also help to combat the serious issue of unemployment in the Middle East. Since there are numerous governmental measures, which have been taken to ensure the growth of industries to accommodate more and more unemployed, educated or non-educated youths, Ski Dubai will find institutional and governmental sanction to their venture and growth. Competitor Identification Tourism is still in the infant and growing stage in Kuwait. This is a primary identification of its growth and expansive potential. However in order to ensure a stringent policy of success the primary task is to identify the possible competitors and rival or negative factors that may have any adverse influence on the revenue generation the Ski Dubai initiative at Kuwait. (Gooroochurn, Guntur 2005) The principal competition that will possibly be faced by the new Ski Dubai branch at the Avenues Mall of Kuwait is, paradoxically, the comparison to the original Ski Dubai at the Mall of Emirates. It must be kept in mind while planning the structuring and the engineering of the incorporation of the snow center at Kuwait that the new branch does not suffer by comparison. Its dimensional facilities should be exactly similar or larger than the one at Dubai. Furthermore, a spatial innovation regarding the lay out and engineering the architecture is necessary during the construction of the resort. Competition from other retail chains and brand stores in and around Kuwait is another serious threat that must be navigated by the Avenues Mall if it wants to maintain a steady and ever growing inflow of customers. If the mall does not secure the customer interest, Ski Dubai venture will automatically fail and vice versa. Recommendations: The snow sport industry of the Middle East is by its very definition, a manmade simulation of reality. By definition then it cannot provide the utter authenticity and indulgence of the real sport. Thus, the snow center at Kuwait will automatically face stringent competition from the European and America snow sport industries. Furthermore, due to the current atmosphere of political tension and geo-political upheaval, the international European and American snow sport enthusiasts will probably not venture to the Middle East for a taste of simulation of the real, unless extensive advertising campaign are directed towards a positive brand creation. Target Marketing and Segmentation The segmenting of potential target markets is done mainly on the basis of market stimuli. (Souiden 2002) The essential differences between the various markets and their interrelated dynamics often are reflected in the business decisions and development strategies regarding the market segmentation, as adopted by companies and ventures that are on the verge of expansion. Target Marketing: Despite these multiple differential aspects, there are numerous commonalities between Arab and Middle Eastern markets. (Souiden 2002) These often favorably inform the segmentation of the target markets and its associated business procedures. The consequence of such statistical, social, cultural and demographic commonalities are extremely beneficial for new expansion projects. In context of the discussion, the venture strategies adopted during the conception, opening and maintenance of the Ski Dubai branch at Dubai will answer for the purpose of its expansion to Kuwait. A thorough replication and a few related innovation and developments on the existing strategies will answer very well for the Ski Dubai initiative at Kuwait. The cultural and social dynamics of Dubai and Kuwait are quite similar and therefore this re-application tactic will yield definite results. Market Segmentation: Another important factor in the business analysis and effective segmentation of profitable markets, is the potential consumers’ ethical stances, cultural and religious believes. (Al-Khatib et al. 2005) The current trend of Islamic prejudice prevalent in America and Europe can be seen as prejudicial to the growth of the intended expansion and business interests of the Ski Dubai venture at Kuwait. The basic principle of international market segmentation, then, is the perceived capacity of a business to capitalize on the innate similarities of taste, demographic potential and the strength for revenue generation of the target market across the globe. (Kale, Sudharshan 1987) The international target market of for the snow sport industry is rather limited and extremely prone to fluctuations. The demographic data and a statistical analysis show a rather restricted reach of the business. While, snow sport enthusiasts are steadily on the rise, there are however, more aspects involved in the resort industry, in particular. Children below a certain age, are, obviously exempt from attempting the sport, as are the elderly. Acclimatization is also an important issue in any snow sport, which may not be easy for everyone. Thus, the target demographic is rather limited, which invariably raises the stakes for companies like Ski Dubai and Ski Kuwait. (Hudson 2000) However, both the centers have an important difference from the traditional ski and snow sport industries. Since, the Dubai and Kuwait Ski resorts are structured on a fully automated and simulated environment, the seasonal restrictions of the traditional snow-sport tourism markets are not applicable to them. Recommendations: Though the other demographic restrictions are still valid, the lifting of the seasonal factor can render the Ski Kuwait an extremely profitable source of revenue for the hosting malls, the Avenues Mall of Kuwait, as well as the overall tourism business of the Middle East. A good operational system will enable the Ski Kuwait to remain open and active through out the year and gather more revenues from the constant annual inflow of consumers. Market Expansion Strategies The expansion of currently flourishing industries and established businesses in the Middle East is an urgent requirement of the day. In case of Ski Kuwait, particularly, strategic joint ventures and collaborative business agreements are highly recommended tactics to meet the target growth and required market expansion. Since Ski Kuwait is primarily a recreational facility, entertainment will be in regular demand. Long-term joint venture with reputed entertainment companies like Majid Al Futtaim Leisure and Entertainments, to provide fun and distraction for the clients at leisure, will be a clever expansive move. Gastronomic tourism is a rapidly growing industry in the Middle East. Apart from the recreational facilities offered by the snow sports at Ski Dubai, it is also vital to integrate a well-regulated and well-staffed kitchen and restaurant offering refreshing and fine cuisine at the resort if it intends to successfully compete with the other resorts and cuisine centers developing all over the country. Since, food and beverage industries are intimately associated with the daily operations of the resort, joint venture with selected beverage and catering companies will be of financial as well as marketing benefits. Further Recommendations As mentioned before, the international approach to marketing strategies must integrate the mean amount of the global customer preferences and consumer orientation to launch a new successfully expanding business. Ski Dubai’s exciting venture from its parent city Dubai to Kuwait must also follow a strict regime of extensive marketing, renovation of branding and a generation of a lucrative appeal, paralleling that of its original venue. While the branding uniqueness of Dubai has been much discussed and extolled, one must be practical when it comes to the issue of replication in terms of the generation of wide and transnational business interests. While, the selected venue – the Avenues Mall- of Kuwait is a good choice in terms of its size, popularity and international exposure, to rely on the strength of its brand image alone will not be sufficient. Kuwait, it must be remembered lacks the location and situational centrality of Dubai. Other imaginative areas of market entry points and positive strategic business reaffirmation are required for the new business to take off. The innovative aspect of the Middle Eastern tourism industry is the affinity of cultural celebration with business. The tourist festivals are famous and thus an excellent way of market entry for Ski Dubai’s Kuwait venue. We are all acquainted with the popular Dubai Shopping Festivals. (Anwar, Sohail 2004) Similar arrangements may be made to introduce the Kuwait shopping industry as well as its venture into the snow-sport tourism. A facilitative advertising campaign and positive reinforcement of Ski Kuwait’s international interest through strategic collaborations must also be considered and attempted. Conclusion The kind of negativity that has prevailed since the last few years after the strident international debate regarding the war efforts and restrictive policies of certain extremist religious groups must be dispelled through positive tourism ventures and greater international inflow of consumers to marginal countries like Kuwait and other GCC states. 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