The World is sinking: Dubai islands 'falling into the sea'

But the World, the ambitiously-constructed archipelago of islands shaped like the countries of the globe, is sinking back into the sea, according to evidence cited before a property tribunal.

The islands were intended to be developed with tailor-made hotel complexes and luxury villas, and sold to millionaires. They are off the coast of Dubai and accessible by yacht or motor boat.

Now their sands are eroding and the navigational channels between them are silting up, the British lawyer for a company bringing a case against the state-run developer, Nakheel, has told judges.

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Dubai confident it can fill 10,000 extra hotel rooms

Dubai says growth in its cruise ship industry, more exhibitions, and increased efforts to promote the sector will help boost tourism to the emirate this year to fill the 10,000 hotel rooms it plans to add over the next 12 months.
The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) said it would also focus on the implementation of a new hotel classification system, which was announced last year.
"The year 2011 is expected to outperform 2010 in terms of increasing the numbers of tourists, hotels, hotel rooms, and participation in international exhibitions and conventions, in addition to increasing awareness of Dubai abroad," said Eyad Ali Abdul Rahman, a spokesman for DTCM.
Tourism directly accounts for about 19 per cent of the emirate's gross domestic product.

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Creditors turn $555m Dubai Holding debt into new loan

Dubai and its government-linked companies have notched another in a series of financial restructurings, with a division of Dubai Holding agreeing with creditors to convert US$555 million (Dh2.03 billion) of debt into a new five-year loan.

Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group (DHCOG), a unit of Dubai Holding that owns the Burj Al Arab hotel and the free-zones operator TECOM, reached the accord after months of negotiations with banks. The deal was announced in an e-mail late on Thursday. Dubai Holding is owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The $555m revolving loan was originally due last July. With banks reluctant to refinance after the global financial crisis and DHCOG short of cash to repay the debt on schedule, however, the division received a two-month repayment extension as talks began about a restructuring. DHCOG lost about $6.2bn in 2009.

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Hotel employee jailed for having Sex with guest

(Hospitality Business News) December 30, 2010 - According to local reports a South African hotel employee who was working in Dubai was sentenced December 28, 2010 to six months in jail for having sex with a guest and getting an abortion when she became pregnant.

The woman was charged with committing zina, the Sharia offence of having sex outside of wedlock, and of aborting a 4 month old fetus. The maximum sentence is 100 lashes and five years in prison.

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Lawyer warns liquor licensing laws 'apply to all'

Those ringing in 2011 with a glass of champagne and no alcohol licence will be breaking the law - even tourists.

And so are those throwing a party and sharing their alcohol and those drinking in an emirate for which their licence is not valid.

Federal law makes it illegal to consume alcohol in the UAE without a licence - whether at home or in a hotel, and this applies to both residents and tourists, according to the Abu Dhabi-based lawyer Khalid Mustafa.
So while hotel establishments may rarely ask customers to produce their licence, drinking alcohol without a licence at such a venue could still lead to time in jail.

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Jumeirah Group to manage 405-room hotel on Palm Jumeirah

Jumeirah Group, the hotel management company owned by Dubai’s government, will manage Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, a five-star hotel built on a man-made island shaped like palm tree in Dubai.

The 405-room hotel, with Ottoman inspired architecture, is scheduled to open in January, Jumeirah Group said in an emailed statement today.

The hotel, built on the west crescent of Palm Jumeirah, also includes 38 beach villas, 10 restaurants, bars, a nightclubs and boutiques.

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Dubai Asset Sales Pick Up as $20 Billion in Debt Comes Due 2011

Sales of Dubai’s holdings are gaining momentum a year after the emirate’s corporate flagship shook world markets with plans to freeze payments on $24.9 billion in loans.

DP World Ltd., the port operator, agreed yesterday to sell 75 percent of its Australian unit, raising $1.5 billion. Borse Dubai Ltd., which controls Dubai’s two stock exchanges, raised $672 million Dec. 16 by selling about half its stake in Nasdaq OMX Group Inc., owner of the second-largest U.S. equity exchange. Both companies said they will use the proceeds to pay down debt.

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Jumeirah hands two hotels over to Meydan LLC

Dubai-based luxury hotel operator Jumeirah Group will cease to operate Bab Al Shams Desert Resort and Spa and The Meydan Hotel from January 1, 2011.
Management of the hotels will be handed over to Meydan LCC, the owner of the two properties, HotelierMiddleEast.com can exclusively reveal.
A spokesperson for Jumeirah Group told Hotelier: “We can confirm that the day-to-day management of “The Meydan Hotel” and “Bab Al Shams Desert Resort and Spa” will revert back to Meydan LLC as from 1 January 2011. Both companies will cooperate closely to facilitate a smooth transition period.”

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Istithmar weighs up sell-off

  Istithmar World is considering selling its share in the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront shopping and entertainment development in Cape Town as property companies show interest in South Africa's biggest tourist attraction.
A source at Dubai World, the parent company of Istithmar, confirmed talks had taken place but said no deal was imminent and added it would sell only at an attractive price. It said it would otherwise strive to hold on to the site, reckoned to be one of the country's most valuable.
The site could fetch as much as 10 billion rand (Dh5.36bn) with potential buyers including Growthpoint, a publicly traded South African property investment company, among those interested in the asset, according to a person familiar with the situation. "People are pushing to buy [the V&A Waterfront]," said a Dubai World source familiar with the discussions. "But we aren't pushing a sale. There is always a price difference … We are just looking at maximising returns," he said.

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Big market for low-cost hotels in Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Budget hotels in the Dubai and Abu Dhabi stand to be the big winners from the growth in stopover traffic and the rapidly expanding low-cost carrier business, analysts and hoteliers say.

As a result, there is room for much more budget accommodation in the UAE and the wider region, as the phenomenon of jumping on a cheap flight and taking several short breaks a year, which is now well-established in Europe, starts to take off in the region.

A number of budget properties have launched in Dubai this year, including an easyHotel, and new Premier Inn and Holiday Inn Express lodgings next to Dubai International Airport.

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Dubai Needs 2.5 Million More Tourists to Match Hotel Growth, Deloitte Says

Dubai will need to attract an additional 2.5 million tourists annually to absorb an estimated 60 percent increase in hotel rooms over the next five years, Deloitte LLP said.
Dubai, which has around 50,000 rooms, may struggle to maintain occupancy and rates as a further 30,000 rooms are likely to be added, said Alex Kyriakidis, the New York-based consulting company’s global managing director of Tourism, Hospitality & Leisure.
The sheikhdom has spent billions of dollars to transform itself into an international tourist destination. It built the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab hotel and opened a 160-room hotel designed by Giorgio Armani in the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower. Horserace complex Meydan and Dubai Mall are also among the attractions that have been built.

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Hotel operators see chance to gain Dubai foothold

The global financial crisis and subsequent downturn in the travel industry have presented an opportunity for some new hotel operators to gain a foothold in the region, says the chief executive and co-owner of an Australian hospitality company.
StayWell Hospitality Group, established just four years ago and little-known outside Australia, last month opened the four-star 400-room Kris Kin hotel in Bur Dubai under its Park Regis brand. The Bur Dubai area is well known for having several independently run, unbranded hotels.

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Dubai records 4,181,326 hotel guests in first half of 2010

The number of hotel guests in Dubai reached 4,181,326 in the first half of 2010, a nine per cent increase over 3,852,742 guests in the first half of last year. According to a report in asiatraveltips.com, statistics from Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) show that the number of hotels operating in Dubai has reached 566, representing a seven per cent increase from 530 in 2009, while hotel rooms reached 67,369, indicating a 16 per cent increase from 58,188 rooms last year.

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Dubai hotels post 9% rise in guests

Dubai hospitality and tourism industries maintained its strong growth despite financial crisis as the number of hotel guests increased by nine per cent during the first half of this year.

Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing said in on Monday that hotel revenues increased six per cent during the first half totalling Dh6.9 billion.

The statement said that the emirate saw a 16 per cent increase in rooms and seven per cent rise in the number of hotels, taking the total to 566.

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Union Properties Agrees to Sell Dubai Ritz-Carlton Hotel at Lowered Price

Union Properties PJSC agreed to sell the Ritz-Carlton hotel development in Dubai for less than the asking price of 1.5 billion dirhams ($410 million), Chairman Khalid bin Kalban said.


Dubai’s third-biggest developer by market value plans to sign the sale agreement in the next ten days, bin Kalban said by phone today. He declined to identify the buyer of the hotel, located within the Dubai International Financial Center, or disclose terms of the deal until the contract is signed.

“Everything has been agreed, all that remains is the drafting of contracts,” bin Kalban said.

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Dubai World plans to sell Investments in Atlantis and MGM among others

Dubai World plans to sell its prized assets over a period of eight years to generate as much as $19.4-billion (U.S.) to pay off creditors burned by its overambitious expansion, according to a restructuring document obtained by Reuters on Wednesday.

The state-owned conglomerate told creditors at a July 22 meeting, held at Dubai’s lavish Atlantis Hotel, that its capital structure was inappropriate and needed “urgent” restructuring, according to the document handed out at the meeting.

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Dubai Developer Questioned on $600 Million Indonesian Resort Development

Dubai-based Emaar Properties is denying reports that it is pulling out of a plan to develop a $600 million resort and residential project on the Indonesian island of Lombok.

In March 2008 Emaar signed a joint venture deal with the Bali Tourism Development Corporation to build the project, one of the first ventures into Indonesia by a Middle East developer. Emaar announced plans for a 1,200 hectare development, including a marina and golf course on the island, which is about 25 miles from Bali.

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Jailed in Dubai, Accused Wait Long After Good Times Have Gone

Not long ago, British businessman Ryan Cornelius was living the high life, doing deals out of Bahrain and taking his family big-game fishing on his yacht and on safari in Kenya. He’s now into his third year in a Dubai jail cell, yet to be convicted of anything.

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Palm Jumeirah hotel development falls victim to delays

DUBAI—Nearly all 10 planned hotel properties on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah archipelago have seen setbacks.

The US$12-billion artificial island is a flagship project constructed by United Arab Emirates-based developer Nakheel, a subsidiary of the Dubai government that sent shockwaves throughout the region after defaulting on US$26 billion dollars of debt last November.

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Kerzner takes control of Reef Condo Hotel

By Eric Hertha


Kerzner International has bought out its’ JV partner in the Reef condo-hotel project at Atlantis, Paradise Island. Kerzner’s partner in the $200 million project was Turnberry Associates.

Turnberry Associates, of south Florida, is a real estate firm involved in shopping centers and hotels. See related stories (http://www.hospitalitybusinessnews.com/search/label/Fontainebleau) . Turnberry’s 2 Fontainebleau sites have been under financial pressure of late with the Fontainebleu Las Vegas filing for bankruptcy protection in 2009.

Both Kerzner and Turnberry have used investments from Dubai World to fund projects. It is not known if Dubai’s financial problems have lead to this or if it is a result of the down real estate market in Florida and Las Vegas.

Ed Fields, Kerzner International (Bahamas) spokesman said “ I can confirm we have purchased Turnberry’s share of the joint venture at the reef. The reason we did it is because we see it as an excellent investment opportunity.”