peter11435 said:
Dubailand will never be a major competitor to the Disney parks. Its on the other side world. Not to mention that in today’s world the majority of people who travel to Disney parks especially most of the Americans are not going to be willing to travel to the Middle East.
Erm, yeah. Dubai is the other side of the world from the US, but did it occur to you that they probably don't care about that? America isn't the only tourism market you know. The world is a great big place and they can get enough business from the massive economies of the Middle East, Europe, Russia and Asia within their catchment area to more than fill their parks and hotels.
Dubai is expanding as a major tourist destination and centre of commerce, with more hotels being built, new beaches, resorts, private islands, skyscrapers, airports, transport projects etc. all the time. In Europe it's known as a liberal Arab state, and already it's just a normal to take a vacation in Dubai, as it is in Spain or Greece.
They are being very clever in building a huge tourist infrastructure with oil revenues before the oil runs out, and then they have commerce and tourism to fall back on. The current resources of the Emirates and their reliable climate mean that the likes of Disneyland Paris and Universal Port Aventura should be very worried if Dubailand becomes a reality.
Even WDW Florida would suffer as Europeans wouldn't bother going to the States anymore (and therefore miss out on the revenues created as most British families, for example, stay in Florida for two weeks, as opposed to most American families who stay for a few days). I'm sure over time, there will be an increasing number of Americans who will be tempted to visit as well...
Dubai welcomes visitors with open arms and yet the USA is making it increasingly difficult for tourists to visit. The US is well known for rude surly immigration staff, holding foreigners at airports for hours, and increased bureaucracy both at ports of entry and at overseas emabssies (even for the British, probably the closest US ally!).
Don't get me wrong, I love the States and have a great deal of respect fondness for the American people, which is why companies like Disney need to look at what is happening around the world. Dubailand can become a major competitor- they can afford to build and sustain something bigger and better than WDW. I would hate to see WDW and American tourism suffer as a result of arrogance.