Industry Insights: The Case For Culture

At the Arabian Travel Market 2016 session on ‘The Future of the UAE as a global tourism hub’, it was shared that the seven emirates do not compete but instead complement one another’s tourism offerings. They sell themselves as seven emirates, one destination.

So while Dubai is the city of superlatives – the tallest tower, highest dancing fountain, biggest shopping mall, man-made islands etc., Abu Dhabi is going down the culture route. Similarly Sharjah has the Heart of Sharjah, a heritage site that offers a different authentic experience.

Dubai

Dubai received 14.2 million tourists last year, and they hope to target 20 million visitors by 2020, which they would as Dubai is also hosting the World Expo in 2020 expecting 25 million visitors there.

Tapping on its rich heritage, Dubai started the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding (SMCCU) with the theme ‘Open Doors, Open Minds’ to increase awareness and establish understanding between the various cultures that live in Dubai. Activities include a Heritage Tour at the Al Fahidi Historic District through its unique narrow sikkas and beautiful wind towers (olden days natural air-con), a Cultural Meal which allows you to eat and chat with a local Emirati host about its culture, customs and religion, and a guided tour of the Jumeirah Mosque, the only mosque in Dubai open to the public. It also conducts Cultural Awareness Programmes for companies in the public and private sectors. This is especially useful as the increase in investments and job opportunities in Dubai has led to a large proportion of expatriate community with the local UAE community comprising only 12% of the population.

Abu Dhabi

In comparison, Abu Dhabi received 4.1 million tourists (counted as tourists who stayed in the hotels). It is ramping up its efforts to build itself as a tourism destination. Abu Dhabi’s tourism development and investment company (TDIC) has developed the Saadiyat Cultural District on Saadiyat Island that will have the world famous Lourve and Guggenheim museums targeted to be ready in 2016 and 2017 respectively, as well as its own Zayed National Museum. It already has one themepark – the Ferrari World in Yas Island and hosts the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yasmarina Circuit.

Sharjah

Sharjah, just beside Dubai is also building up its heritage with the Heart of Sharjah, the largest historical preservation and restoration project in the region planned over 15 years to be completed by 2025, by restoring historical buildings, constructing new structures following the Sharjah architecture and transforming them into hotels, restaurants, cafes, art galleries and markets.

Singapore

Singapore too, is promoting its brand as a narrative that draws from history, from pre-colonial and colonial times, leading to its independence and present times; a mix of nostalgia and modernism. This was shared at the recent Tourism Industry Conference 2016, “Tourists come to countries not to imagine what has been erased but to experience what has been retained.”

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Without a doubt, the case for culture makes sense in any tourism destination, and especially so for today’s well-travelled visitors. People travel to see the world, and buildings are only one aspect of the hardware. In most cases, it is the software - the interaction with its community that travellers look for to enrich their experiences. So a destination would look to increasingly create opportunities to enhance these authentic interactions for its tourists with the local community.

At the SMCCU Cultural Meal experience, visitors were greeted by very enthusiastic and hospitable volunteer hosts, who assured visitors to “feel free to take any photos and videos, and ask any questions you want”, to clarify misconceptions that visitors may have of UAE, so they walk away with a better understanding and could better appreciate the rationale behind the things they see but don’t understand in the country.

It is a right step towards the ‘Open Doors Open Minds’ mindset.