Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports, and Chairman of the Dubai Shopping Festival Supreme Committee has emphasized that UAE's rapidly growing festival industry has evolved exponentially to become a key component of the country's economy today.
He explained that festivals and events in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah only complement each other to achieve the main objective in driving growth of UAE's tourism industry. These events, he added, were instrumental to UAE's economy and provided the residents of UAE an opportunity to not only experience international festivals but provided a platform for the exchange of cultures, something that UAE is known for.
Speaking to the Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment Media Centre, Sheikh Ahmed stated that Dubai's festival industry had made the transition from being purely entertaining to becoming a key sector of the economy and that the sector had come of age by being on par with other industries in the UAE.
He also said that Dubai became the pioneer in the region's festival industry when it launched the first edition of Dubai Shopping Festival in 1996 and Dubai Summer Surprises in 1998. Many later festivals and events in the region took cue from DSF and DSS he said, adding that after fifteen years of existence, DSF had become a brand that had had an impact on tourism and many other sectors in Dubai and UAE.
Elaborating on the success of DSF and DSS, he said that visitor and consumer spending figures were proof enough of the exponential growth of these events. DSF attracted over 40 million visitors and a consumer spending of AED 80 billion over 15 years, with prizes ranging from cars, gold, and cash prizes worth AED 1.5 billion being given away.
Dubai Summer Surprises is not less significant, he added, and attracted 17 million visitors and a consumer spending of AED 22 billion over 12 years. These figures reflect the farsightedness of Dubai's leadership in positioning Dubai as a global destination comparable with other leading cities of the world today, he said.
As the Chairman of Emirates Airline and Group, Sheikh Ahmed also mentioned that Emirates airline would be a main sponsor of DSS this year, as it has been for the past 12 years. This cooperation was inline with the vision of Emirates airline in promoting Dubai as a preferred global destination, he said.
Setting aside rumours of delays at Dubai World Central, HH Sheikh Ahmed said that Dubai World Central was launched to support the growth of Dubai in a strategic manner. With an area of 140 square kilometers, DWC will house the Al Maktoum Airport – the world's biggest airport when opened. The first phase will open on June 27, 2010, said HH, also mentioning that DWC will incorporate Dubai Logistics City, DWC Aviation City and other projects to create the world's first fully-integrated, multi- modal logistics platform in a single, customs-controlled zone.
Expansion projects are also underway at Dubai International Airport, he said, with an aim to increase passenger traffic up to 75 million annually. The airport expects the number of users to touch 46 million in 2010 and 100 million by 2020 thereby requiring urgent expansion projects across Dubai, he added.
Stating that Dubai's aviation industry was on track for growth, he said that Emirates airline posted a profit of $964 million for the year ending March 31, 2010, witnessing an increase of 400 per cent, adding that this was at a time when airlines across the globe were suffering huge losses.
