September 18, 2016 21 Economy TravelEast & Leisure West

Dubai opens massive Marvel-branded indoor theme park

Aya Batrawy Arabia, said he was happy the Gulf region has a place such as this to visit. The 26-year-old said he trav- Dubai els to Dubai at least four times a year and hopes his country can s summer temperatures someday open similar theme parks. soared outside, the “It’s very, very nice. Better than world’s largest indoor I imagined,” he said. “We wish for theme park, featuring this in Saudi Arabia — the rides, the Marvel- and Cartoon cinemas.” Network-brandedA rides, opened to The adventure park is one of two the public on August 30th — the lat- major theme parks opening this est in a myriad of new attractions in year in Dubai, part of an effort to Dubai. attract 20 million tourists annually The first visitors at the by 2020, when the emirate is to host 140,000-sq.-metre park reflected the World Expo. Last year, about 14 the diverse crowds that visit and million people visited Dubai, ac- live in Dubai, home to the world’s cording to the Department of Tour- tallest skyscraper, the Middle East’s ism and Commerce Marketing. The largest mall and a man-made island highest share of visitors came from in the shape of a palm tree that is neighbouring Gulf countries, with dotted with luxury hotels. Saudi Arabia topping the list. Saudi women dressed in abayas, Teens Abdullah Jameel and Sul- the traditional loose black robes tan al-Suweidi, both from Dubai, and full face-veil, rode alongside said they enjoyed the park more tank top-wearing British tourists than Universal Studios in Singa- and Indian families on the park’s pore. They said the IMG Worlds of roller coasters and attractions. Adventure park wins, in their opin- ion, because of shorter lines and Dubai adventure park more exciting rides. is part of an effort to They beamed after riding the attract 20 million Velociraptor roller coaster that A woman waits for the Powerpuff Girls – Mojo Jojo’s Robot Rampage ride to begin at the IMG Worlds tourists annually by swoops through the indoor park, of Adventure amusement park in Dubai, on August 31st. then juts out into the Dubai desert 2020, when the surrounding the park before going emirate is to host the back inside. Another main attrac- with its 22 rides and attractions, “Apart from that, great. Very nice- in the Gulf market for quality enter- World Expo. tion is the Predator roller coaster, the park offers visitors 25 retail and ly done,” he said, before adding that tainment destinations, he said. with its sharp, vertical drop. 28 food and beverage outlets that some of the rides were not working. In October, a $2.8 billion theme Several families with young chil- Spider-Man, too, has his own are expected to contribute nearly Park Chief Executive Officer Len- park is to open on the main highway dren complained that some rides ride, a spinning roller coaster that a quarter of the park’s overall rev- nard Otto said this was not uncom- connecting Dubai with Abu Dhabi, stalled several times. Others said propels riders through a New York enue. At the high-end Marvel Vault mon in the theme park industry. the UAE seat of government. Dubai they were thrilled by the adventure City skyline, soaring much like store, an extravagant Hulk-inspired “No theme park today, whether Parks and Resorts will feature a Six park’s indoor boulevard that leads the fictional superhero would as gold display that holds a pen it’s Disney or Universal, has 100% Flags, a Legoland waterpark and visitors through Marvel and Car- he fights to save the city from the with precious stones costs about upkeep time on their rides,” he said. roller coaster, Bollywood-themed toon Network zones, a “Haunted sinister Doctor Octopus. A Cartoon $31,300. “Rides will break. They’re the same rides and shows and a Motiongate Hotel” and a Lost Valley Dinosaur Network-themed Powerpuff Girls Despite thrills at every turn, Brit- as any other technology. The key movie-themed park with a Smurfs zone. scrambler glides and spins riders ish tourist Tariq Collins said the en- for us to try and manage the experi- village. The IMG Worlds of Adventure upside down, while a 5D theatre try ticket cost of $82 for adults and ence after that.” Abu Dhabi is already home to Fer- park recorded about 3,000 visitors experience takes guests through an $68 for children was “a bit pricey”. Otto said the park plans to add rari World and is planning a Warner August 30th as temperatures out- animated Ben 10 battle scene. He said there were not as many at- five attractions in the coming five Bros-themed park. side reached 38 degrees Celsius. The park aims to attract up to tractions for his 5-year-old daugh- years. It’s “definitely a new feather Ali al-Subai, a visitor from Saudi 30,000 visitors on peak days. Along ter as he had hoped there would be. in Dubai’s cap” and helps fill a gap (The Associated Press) Egypt invests in tourism promotion, hoping to change perceptions

Amr Emam A bomb had been planted on board by the Islamic State (ISIS), which is active in Sinai, according Cairo to Russian authorities. The aircraft tragedy prompted gypt is spending millions flight suspensions to Egypt from of dollars to promote its major tourism markets Russia, tourist sites internation- Britain and Italy, crippling a tour- ally as optimism is gain- ism sector that contributes almost ing larger numbers of 11.4% of Egypt’s national income Eforeign tourists will return in the and employs 10.5% of the work coming months force. The Egyptian Tourism Promo- The hope is that the new promo- tion Authority said it has struck tion campaigns will change the promotion deals worth $20 mil- perception that Egypt is not a safe lion. place to visit, according to Adel Ab- “The deals will open the door del Razik, a member of the Federa- for promotion campaigns that tion of Tourism Chambers, a union will seek to change mental images of Egyptian travel agencies and ho- about Egypt as a tourist destina- tel owners. tion and security conditions in it,” “We hope that the campaigns, said Sami Mahmoud, the authori- among other measures, will con- ty’s head. “They will show foreign- vince tourists to come back,” Abdel A policeman stands guard in front of the Pyramid of Khufu, the largest of the Great Pyramids of Giza, ers that Egypt is safe for them and Razik said. “It is important that we on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. their families.” all join hands so that the tourism sector can overcome its current dif- “Promotion ficulties.” on major Western TV networks, ists used to travel to Egypt each “We have drawn up a long-term campaigns will show Tourism visits in April 2016 were posters with photos of Egyptian year. Decisions by those countries’ plan to bring tourists back to our foreigners that off 74% compared with April 2015, tourist sites and a series of tourist governments to suspend flights resorts and tourist sites,” said Egypt is safe for the Tourism Ministry said. In June, exhibitions. to Egyptian tourist destinations Omayma el-Husseini, spokes- them and their 329,000 foreign tourists visited The first phase of the campaign, caused serious economic prob- woman of the Tourism Ministry. families.” Egypt compared with 820,000 in which will be managed by the New lems. “We will make sure that the plan June last year, the ministry said. York-based advertising agency J. There are signs the tourism sec- will deliver the word to everybody Sami Mahmoud, head The drop in tourist arrivals and Walter Thompson, will include tra- tor is recovering. A Russian secu- about Egypt’s tourist attractions.” of Egypt’s tourism authority the revenues they generate ex- ditional tourist markets, such as rity team arrived to check security Apart from the promotion cam- posed vulnerabilities in the Egyp- Germany, Russia, Britain and Italy. measures at Egypt’s airports in ad- paigns, Husseini said, a major tour- The campaigns are to kick off in tian economy, deprived the nation- Later phases will add China, India, vance of Moscow lifting its flight ism conference in the southern city November, the traditional begin- al budget of much-needed cash Japan and Latin America. suspension. Turkey’s national car- of Luxor, appearances by interna- ning of the tourist season in Egypt. and exacerbated unemployment. Egypt, tourism experts said, has rier, Turkish Airlines, said it would tional movie stars and well-known The country’s tourism sector has To make up for the losses, Egypt learnt the hard lesson of depend- resume flights to Egypt in October. artists in Aswan, Sharm el-Sheikh been struggling since October 2015 will apply a series of austerity ing on specific tourist markets. European airlines are following and Hurghada and other tourist when a Russian passenger plane measures, slash a sizeable portion Close to 3 million Russians a year suit. hotspots and a variety of entertain- was bombed over the Sinai pen- of subsidies and obtain a loan from used to visit Egypt early before The new campaigns, the Egyp- ment events are being planned. insula only minutes after take-off the International Monetary Fund. the October 2015 passenger plane tian Tourism Ministry said, are from Sharm el-Sheikh Internation- The tourism campaigns, accord- bombing. About 2 million British among several steps to bring tour- Amr Emam is a Cairo-based al Airport. ing to Mahmoud, will include ads tourists and 1 million Italian tour- ist inflows back to average. contributor to The Arab Weekly.