In the last two decades Dubai has become one of the hottest business and vacation spots on the planet. Dubai is a city of fascinating contrasts. A visitor will experience traditional Arab culture set within a dynamic ultra-modern city with new attractions springing up virtually every day.
Dubai is a city of fascinating contrasts. In Dubai one can see dusty traditional villages only minutes from fantastically luxurious residential districts. Rugged mountains and shifting sand dunes are only a few miles from pristine sandy beaches and lush green parks. Shoppers can savor Dubai’s traditional market places or visit some of the most modern and largest indoor shopping malls in the world.
Visitors to Dubai can choose to stay in one of its many luxury hotels. Or for a more authentic Dubai experience a person can rent a beautifully furnished apartment or villa in one of Dubai’s newer residential areas. Dubai apartment rentals offer the visitor more space for less money, and provide a different perspective on this unique city.
Many New Developments Underway
With the rapid pace of real estate and commercial development taking place in Dubai it has become one of the most futuristic cities in the world. The city skyline is dominated by ultra-modern office towers, hotels and skyscrapers. The Burj Al-Arab, for instance, is the world’s tallest hotel. The Mall of the Emirates is the largest shopping center outside of North America, with newer even larger malls on the drawing board and under construction. Dubai has also become a serious golfing destination with several famous championship courses and one of the very few fully lit 18 hole golf courses in the world.
A large number of other large developments are also underway in Dubai. Some of the more significant ones are:
– Dubai Mall – projected to be the largest indoor shopping mall in the world.
– Burj Dubai – the tallest skyscraper in the world – scheduled to be completed in 2008.
Dubai World Central to include the new Dubai World Central International Airport along with the world’s largest transportation hub. The new airport and transport terminal will be ten times larger than the present Dubai International Airport facilites.
– The Dubai Waterfront project will be the largest waterfront and largest man-made development in the world. It will be a series of canals and artificial islands housing a number of commercial, residential, and resort zones.
Center for Shopping Tourism
By far the most popular attraction Dubai is the shopping. The malls and market places of Dubai are stocked with an incredible array of consumer goods and draw large numbers of shopping tourists from all parts of Europe and the Middle East and even as far away as Eastern Europe, India, and North America.
The souks of Dubai offer the most interesting shopping experience in the city. They are located on either side of Dubai creek that runs through the heart of the area. Two of the most popular are the Spice Souk and the Gold Souk. When you visit the souks be prepared to bargaining in traditional middle eastern style. It is an important part of buying and selling in the souks.
In recent years traditional shopping in the souks has met with stiff competition from more western style shopping as fantastic shopping malls and boutiques have sprung up throughout the city. Dubai’s modern shopping malls sell virtually any consumer good you can imagine: clothing, cars, furnishings, jewellery, electronics, sporting equipment – you name it and you can probably find it in the shopping areas and malls of Dubai. And often all of these consumer items are under the same roof.
The Duty Free complex located at the Dubai International Airport is another mecca for shoppers. Items are brought in from many different parts of the world and can often be purchased for less in Dubai than anywhere else in the Middle East – and often for less than in their country of origin. The Duty Free Complex is one of the largest in the world, but new projects such as the Dubai World Central International Airport will have even more massive duty free areas.
These and many more attractions make Dubai a favorite destination of tourists and business travelers from around the world. Future developments promise to make Dubai even more important as a world class business hub and a haven for tourists in search of a unique and exciting adventure.
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