The clink of champagne glasses mixes with the quiet background noise of the machine high in the air at 900 kilometers per hour. Cruise altitude has been reached, the seat belt signs have gone out, and the horseshoe-shaped bar for business and first class guests on the Emirates Airbus A 380 is proving to be a real eye-catcher. The atmosphere up here is reminiscent of times when flying was still a glamorous pleasure for the privileged few. A flight attendant in an oriental-inspired retro uniform serves sweet and salty appetizers, while her colleague smiles and swings the cocktail shaker.
“Once a year we treat ourselves to this trip with all the trimmings,” says a young passenger with a discreet eyebrow piercing and sips her champagne. “We used to fly to New York. But Dubai simply has more lifestyle.”
Flight Emirates EK 56 takes off from Düsseldorf in the early afternoon and lands in Dubai shortly before midnight. “Perfect for us,” explains the young woman. “The hotel shuttle is already waiting at the airport, and tomorrow morning we’ll jump into the pool, before breakfast!” Her partner pulls out his cell phone and takes a photo. Cool bar scene at ten thousand meters altitude. Lots of “likes”. The couple from the Ruhr area looks like they have come out of a wish list for tourism managers. Early 30s, good-looking, cosmopolitan. And both are real.
Trend target of the Instagram generation
Dubai has achieved what many destinations dream of: becoming the trend destination of a solvent Instagram generation. Others also have a bathtub-warm sea and lots of sand to offer. But today's mega-city, which was nothing more than a small fishing village until oil production began in 1969, has been transformed into a glittering global metropolis with billion-dollar projects and at an almost breathtaking speed.
Even Covid had no chance against this dynamic. While many places are still struggling with the after-effects of the epidemic and the temporary complete standstill of tourism, the number of guests in Dubai is already exceeding that of the years before Covid. Between January and June 2023, 8.55 million international visitors were welcomed, surpassing the 8.36 million from the first half of 2019. These figures confirm the emirate, with its 3.1 million inhabitants, as the fastest recovering destination in the world.
German holidaymakers like our couple from the Ruhr area are busy getting involved. In the first six months of 2023, 328,900 German citizens traveled, an increase of 53.3 percent compared to the previous year. There is no shortage of accommodation options: 810 hotels, most of them upscale, offer a total of 148,689 rooms, and the trend is rising, as construction continues at a record pace in Dubai. The need for new hotels still appears to be great: occupancy is currently one of the highest in the world at 78 percent.
What attracts people so much? For many, the wonderland in the desert sand embodies luxury and lifestyle in all its facets. Futuristic skyscrapers, gigantic shopping malls, a phenomenal density of luxury hotels, exciting sky bars at dizzying heights (although not quite as high as those on the Emirates jet). Plus multicultural gastronomy, adventure parks, beach parties and desert safaris, see and be seen. It would be easy to forget that you are in an Islamic country with corresponding values. Compared to other Arab states, Dubai proves to be relatively tolerant.
Luxury cars line the hotel driveways
Money doesn't seem to play a role anyway, and the local elite are happy to show it. Just on the driveway of what is currently probably the most spectacular hotspot, the “Atlantis Royal” hotel on Palm Jumeirah, an artificial palm-shaped island on the coast of Dubai, you can admire a lot of outrageously expensive super sports cars every day. Which shouldn't be surprising in a city where the traffic police drive Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Porsche 918 Spyders or even Bugatti Veyrons with over 1000 horsepower. The ambulance's emergency doctors limit their work to sturdy Ford Mustangs or a flat Lotus car.
Despite all the pomp, the monarchy in the Arabian Gulf attaches great importance to presenting itself as cosmopolitan and multicultural. Dubai has been ruled by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum since 2006. The Sheikh is also Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Emirates and is considered a visionary and pioneer of Dubai's transformation into a luxury and high-tech metropolis. His ambitious master plan for the coming years aims to make Dubai the “most desirable destination in the world”. Tourism is already one of the most important sources of income, accounting for more than 20 percent of gross domestic product. This money is also needed: In contrast to its neighboring countries, Dubai is no longer a significant oil or gas producing country.
In addition to even more tourists, the aim is to attract talent and top talent from all areas of future-oriented technologies. There appears to be no shortage of investors. A “Silicon Valley of the Middle East” already exists: This is what the Internet City is called, a district designed as a technology park in which around 17,000 people live and work. There are around 1,600 companies and start-ups here who have had the red carpet rolled out, not least with tax privileges. A high-tech fairy tale from the Arabian Nights.
Meanwhile, the creative scene is bustling on Alserkal Avenue in the Al Quoz industrial district. An alternative area that you could also imagine in Berlin's trendy districts. The contrast to the glamor world of the Palm Island or the high-gloss shopping malls downtown could hardly be greater. But it is precisely these contrasts that make Dubai so impressive. Art and culture fans will find galleries, cinemas, theaters, photo studios, co-working spaces, boutiques, co-working cafés and vegan restaurants in 40 former warehouses. It remains to be seen whether our couple notices all of this on the way there. Dubai's luxury hotels, with their pool landscapes, fine restaurants and all-round pampering programs, are true champions in making their clientele forget the world outside.
Participation in the trip was supported by Dubai Tourism. Our standards of transparency and journalistic independence can be found at go2.as/independence.
