DUBAI // Attracting families will be the core focus of Dubai’s 2020 strategy, with theme parks, safaris and holiday homes in the pipeline.
Infrastructure plans and details of sustainable projects were also outlined in Dubai Municipality’s Desert Rose venture for nationals, and the Land Department’s Perfect City yesterday at the Destination Dubai 2020 conference.
“Our aim is that Dubai should be the number one city visited by travellers by 2020 and this is also possible with the theme parks planned and family tourism,” said Issam Kazim, chief executive of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing.
“We’re hoping to drive people here by the experiences offered to families. Also Saudis make up our number one visitor group and they would prefer to live in homes rather than having several hotel rooms.”
Among the attractions aiming to pull in 20 million visitors a year by 2020 are theme parks inspired by Marvel comic-book heroes, a safari drive, a Legoland, and entertainment parks based on Hollywood and Bollywood movies.
Family experiences include diving with sharks at the Dubai Mall aquarium and penguin encounters at Mall of the Emirates.
The emirate’s tourism masterplan draws in all classes of visitors and not merely high-end tourists, said Mr Kazim.
“We want to highlight elements beyond the beach, high-end retail and hotels by highlighting gastronomical experiences in corner restaurants like Ravi’s as well as Zuma, and not just shopping in malls but also in souqs,” he said referring to the popular no-frills Pakistani eatery and the top-end Japanese restaurant in DIFC.
“There will be more 3 to 4-star hotels, business, budget hotels. It’s our work to facilitate this and make it an integrated approach.”
Dubai Municipality will soon appoint consultants for infrastructure in the Dh35 billion Desert Rose project, for which groundwork begins this year.
Spread over 4,000 hectares near Emirates Road and Al Ruwaya, it will include 20,000 homes for Emiratis and 10,000 low-cost houses for expatriates, who will provide services.
“We can deliver the city if required before 2020 but we will keep the axis of time with the Rulers to decide when this is required,” said Abdulla Rafia, assistant director general of Dubai Municipality. “We will build the city in phases and can also have it built over a 10-year period.”
While the project can be financed by the municipality from its own budget, a public-private partnership is also an option.
It will have solar panels on the roofs of every home, sewage water recycled for irrigation, an eco-park that produces gas from waste, walking and cycling paths, buses and a light rail to connect to the Metro and city centre.
“Land will be put to use for more than just a house by using roofs for solar panels, providing charging stations for electric cars, using green recreation areas also for agriculture,” said Mr Rafia.
“Sustainability will not just be spoken of theoretically, but will be built into the design and will fit into our needs.”
Sustainability is the main focus of the Dubai Expo 2020 with the other two themes covering mobility and opportunity.
The Dubai Land Department also pitched in with ambitious green plans of its own as part of the Perfect City project, work on which is due to begin this year.
“This city will have offices of Rera, the Land Department, a museum, the real estate court, real estate university, the investment and promotion centre, with 70 per cent greenery and 20,000 trees to be planted,” said Duaa Dablan, senior deputy director of the Dubai Land Department’s Real Estate Investment and Promotion Centre.
rtalwar@thenational.ae