Tourism and Natural Environment in Dubai - Case Study Example

 Tourism in Dubai Introduction Dubai is located at the Southwest of Persian gulf. It has the highest population among the United Arab Emirates states with an area of 2,106,177 square kilometres. It is located between Far East and Europe. The city has more than one hundred shipping lines and over one hundred airlines. It is next to Saudi Arabia (Sampler & Eigner 2008). Dubai is one of the major destinations or emirates of the seven emirates of United Arab Emirates. In the year 1997, the department of tourism and marketing commerce was established in Dubai. The main aim of this department was to increase the tourism rate and market Dubai to the outside world. It aims at attracting many tourists to Dubai by marketing both heritage and natural environment at Dubai (Davidson 2008). Tourism has been a major source of revenue for the government of Dubai and it has also enabled the government to attract foreign currency. For example in the year 2011, Dubai served a total of 9,000,000 tourists (Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing 2013). Dubai’s natural environment There are various reasons why Dubai is able to attract this large number of tourists. One of the attractions of the tourists is the natural environment, the kind of society found in Dubai and many other tourist attractions. Besides Dubai being next to the coastal region, it has some natural environment which attracts the tourists (Sharpley 2008). The semi desert climate at Dubai is different from those of other countries. The semi desert trees such as Flora and Fauna are good for viewing. The natural harbour of Dubai further is rare to many countries thus it acts a natural environment which attracts the tourists. In addition, the Persian Gulf is another natural att5raction for tourists at Dubai. The Gulf connects with Oman Gulf. At the cross points of these two Gulfs, they make a good environment which is rare to find in other places. Therefore natural semi desert environment and the natural harbour provide tourist features (Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing 2013). Society in Dubai The economy of Dubai is dominated by manufacturing and tourism. Not only tourism and manufacturing industries are in Dubai, there are also some other sectors which have started coming up like Agriculture (Davidson 2008). The major exports of Dubai are the electronics. Dubai city comprises of many people from different cultures therefore it is a multi culture city. The main language which is spoken in Dubai is English although there are some other minor languages. These different cultures make it a diversity city. The city can be traced from its history. There have been some problems in the leadership. Since the economy of the city began to grow tremendously, the system of government changed. It was hard to manage that large number of people (Rugh 2007). The city has cosmopolitan and multicultural society. The initial population was small but with the arrival of other nationalities starting with the nationals of Iran, the city’s population grew. There have been reported ethnic clashes. The main cultures in Dubai are the Islamic and Arab culture. The society in Dubai can be recognised by the way people live. For instance, the architecture, the dressing style and the kind of religions help the tourists(Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing 2013). Heritage resources in Dubai Heritage resources are the resources which attract are not natural but can attract tourists. The heritage resources that attract tourists to Dubai can be a form of culture or ethnic aspects. The heritage resources in Dubai can be traced back to the history. Dubai has been performing well in trade and this has helped to bring diversity in the city (Sharpley 2008). The major heritage resources are found in the heritage house. This site provides some resources which can be used to trace the earlier way of life. The linguistics mostly uses these resources to make history. These heritage resources have been also a source of tourist attraction to Dubai. Not in many nations that one can find the heritage resources. Therefore, Dubai has gained fame because of the heritage resources which are mostly found in the heritage house of Dubai (Sharpley 2008). The benefits of these heritage resources include benefiting the local community by earning foreign currency. Tourists who visit Dubai carry with them their home currency and when they exchange their finance, the local community earn foreign exchange. History of tourism in Dubai The history of tourism in Dubai can be traced back when the population of Dubai started growing when foreign nationals entered into the land of Dubai. The first foreign nationals who started arriving Dubai were the Iranians (Rugh 2007). They settled in the city and when they went back to their homelands, they explained the unique features they came across in Dubai. The second group of people who went to Dubai were the Indians. They promoted trade and more especially they dominated in various shops. Tourism began as a result of trade. The foreigners noticed some unique features in the Dubai. When they travelled back to their homelands, they spread the good features of tourism like the natural harbour which is unique to find. These stories attracted other people who felt it was good to visit Dubai and view the sites themselves (Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing 2013). With the formation of the department of tourism and marketing commerce, tourism in Dubai received a great booster. The department marketed the tourism features in Dubai globally and this attracted many tourists. Besides these features, the government took responsibility of renovating the heritage resources and improved them thus it attracted many tourists. Push and pull factors Push factors bare the factors which push people away from their usual residence. They increase the demand for tourism. These factors include economic, demographic, political and technological forces (Rugh 2007). These factors motivate tourists to visit places where they think they can be satisfied with their needs. Push factors imply that tourists who are stable in terms of finance and time and can visit Dubai for their leisure purposes. Pull factors are the factors that attract tourists to Dubai. The most obvious pull factors tourists in Dubai is natural resources and the heritage resources (Davidson 2008). The semi desert and climate in Dubai is rare to be found in other places thus it attracts tourists. The natural harbour is another pull factor which attracts tourists to Dubai. Both pull and push factors can influence tourists from visiting a place. They can be a source of motivation to visit a place. Motivation can be as a result of the pull or push factors (Davidson 2008). When a tourist is attracted by unique features, he or she will have strong desire to visit the place. Motivation therefore can increase the number of tourists visiting Dubai. Merchandise things to buy in Dubai There are various merchandise things a tourist can buy from Dubai. These gadgets will remind the tourist that at one time he or she was in Dubai. Among the gadgets to buy include car side mirrors, Boston red sox and car lifts. These are just but a few things to a tourist can buy (Davidson 2008). In addition, there are some other things one can buy. For example silver rings, Dubai Gold jewellery bracelet and bangles (Sampler & Eigner 2008). Moreover, there are many more activities that can be done to remind the tourist his or her trip to Dubai. For example taking pictures and carrying them home. Impact of tourism in Dubai Tourism in Dubai has improved the economy of Dubai. Through tourism, there are other industries which have come up like banking and finance and insurance (Euromonitor International 2008). The tourists also provide market for the locally manufactured products in Dubai. Through the sale of these products, the country earns foreign exchange. On the other hand, tourism helps to improve utilization of other facilities in the development of economy (Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing 2013). For instance, with tourism, infrastructure is improved so that the tourists can communicate effectively and also reach various destinations. Accommodation facilities in Dubai furthermore get market. The hotels in Dubai are able to find market for their facilities when the tourists visit their sites. Tourism in Dubai has led to better communication globally. Tourists who visit Dubai come from various parts of the world. They interact and share ideas about their different cultures and in the process some people get to appreciate other people’s culture (Euromonitor International 2008). In addition, tourism in Dubai has led to development in various sectors. For instance, as the number of tourists increase the more the environment is damaged (Euromonitor International 2008). In order to continue attracting tourists, the government will take various precautions to prevent environment from exploitation. As a result therefore, the environment is protected from damage. Kinds of accommodation available Accommodation is very essential in the tourism sector. With the growing number of tourists who visit Dubai, the accommodation facilities are needed the more with different varieties to meet the demands of the tourists (Euromonitor International 2008). In Dubai, the major accommodation facilities are the hotels and motels. Together with the guest houses, they offer a large percentage in accommodation services. Restaurants also provide some kind of accommodation though not enough to accommodate all the tourists. Accommodation services should make the local community feel the benefit of tourism. Instead of tourists being accommodated in the hotels, motels and guest houses, they should interact with the local culture by spending their nights and days in the cultural houses (Sharpley 2008). They should interact with the local community through foods they take and the kind of life they live. This can be more adventurous than being accommodated in the hotels and guest rooms. In this regard, the government of Dubai should take initiatives to construct traditional houses which can accommodate the tourists (Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing 2013). It will also help the local community to benefit from tourism by selling local foods to the tourists and also the ornaments. This will improve the living standards of the local community. Transportation facilities Transportation helps to move tourists from one place to another. Initially, transportation was a major problem in Dubai (Sampler & Eigner 2008). There was poor transportation network to and from the natural tourist sites. This discouraged tourists from visiting some sites due to difficulty in transportation. Due to increased demand for tourism in Dubai, transportation network improved greatly. Currently there are various channels of transporting tourists. There is Railway transport, pair transport and road transportation (Sampler & Eigner 2008). Road transport is the major means of transport used because it is cheap, readily available and it is appropriate for shorter distances. Therefore transportation is no longer an issue in Dubai. Gastronomic experiences There are various experiences that tourists can experience in Dubai. In the first place, there will be changes in climatic conditions. Since Dubai is located in a semi desert place, the temperatures are very high compared to other parts of the world (Sharpley 2008). Therefore, the tourists might experience changes in climate. Another experience is the changes in the kinds of food people eat. The foods the local community take represent the culture of people of Dubai. The tourists should take their foods with the local community so that they can learn more about the foods people eat. However, the tourists should be careful when eating the local food because it may be different from their home foods that can lead to some complications (Sharpley 2008). Purpose of Dubai Dubai serves various purposes both locally and internationally. Dubai serves as both administrative and commercial centre. In the administrative functions, most of the government offices are located in Dubai. Therefore it can serve as an administrative centre. It also serves as a commercial centre (Davidson 2008). Dubai is a major commercial centre for trading operations. There are manufacturing industries located there and also due to its big population it serves as a market for the manufactured products. According to the Dubai websites, all the resources talk about goodness of Dubai. It started as a small but due to entrance of foreigners, Dubai grew tremendously. Its rapid growth is as a result of trading activities and also through tourism (Davidson 2008). Through trade and tourism activities, many people with different skills were attracted to Dubai and applied their skills in different sectors like the manufacturing sector leading to rapid growth. In preparing a brochure to market and promote Dubai, there are some components which need to be considered. The first component to be included in the brochure is the unique features found in Dubai. This will help to attract the attention of the readers. Another component is the infrastructure. Most tourists will be influenced by infrastructure as it helps in the transport and communication of the tourists and the business people (Davidson 2008). In addition, security is a major issue. The brochure will indicate the extent of security in Dubai. Finally, there will be a comment on accommodation facilities. Accommodation will be a pull factor because some foreigners will be concerned about their wellbeing in terms of the foods to eat and where to sleep. Conclusion Dubai is among the states of the United Arab Emirates. It is located at the Southwest of Persian Gulf. It started as a small town but grew rapidly in the recent years. It is among the best performing places for attracting the tourists. It is leading in tourist attraction among the seven United Arab Emirates states. It has good infrastructure which motivates the tourists to visit the site. Dubai serves as both administrative and commercial place. The factors that influence tourist attraction to Dubai include both pull and push factors. Currently Dubai is among the leading tourists sites in the world. References Davidson C 2008, Dubai; the vulnerability of success, London, Hust and Company. Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing 2013, Tourism in Dubai, retrieved On 26th Oct 2013 at http://www.dubaitourism.ae/definitely-dubai/dubai-tourism Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing 2013, Tourism in Dubai, retrieved On 26th Oct 2013 at http://www.dubaitourism.ae/definitely-dubai/dubai-tourism Euromonitor International 2008, Travel and tourism in United Arab Emirates, London. Rugh, A. B 2007, The political culture of leadership in the United Arab Emirates, New York, Polgrave MacMillan. Sampler, J & Eigner, S 2008, Sand to Silicon: Going global. Rapid growth lessons From Dubai, London, Motivate publishing Sharpley, R 2008, Planning for tourism, the case for Dubai, Tourism and Hospitality planning and development, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 13-30. Read More