WTTC: Dubai bubble will never burst

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Baumgarten: Dubai’s tourism industry growth shows no sign of abating.

World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) president, Jean Claude Baumgarten, has challenged sceptics who claim Dubai's tourism industry is close to saturation.

In an exclusive interview at ITB, Baumgarten told ATN Dubai's bubble "will never burst".

"Dubai is really going into second gear: it is becoming a financial centre, an IT centre, a centre for conventions, a corporate headquarters centre and a leisure centre, so how can the bubble burst?" he said.

The exponential growth of every sector is paving the way for the continued growth of the industry, and the expansion of the tourism infrastructure, including airports and port facilities would give the industry the freedom to do so, he added.

"Look at the figures, look at the growth, look at the number of full planes travelling in and out - it is a tragedy that the A380 has been delayed [or the figures would already be even higher]."

According to the WTTC's Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) research, the Middle East accounts for 2.4% of travel and tourism market share globally.

Baumgarten described the development of the region as "a success story".

"The growth of the Middle East has been pushed on by what Dubai has done; the whole region has benefited from it," he said.

Baumgarten used Las Vegas as an example of how a town or city can transform itself from focusing on just one niche market to a multi-purpose destination.

"Since I have known Vegas, there has been a buzz that its bubble would burst at least twice; that it could not continue to exist as a gaming destination," he explained.

"So it went from being a purely leisure destination to a centre for family holidays, for leisure vacations, and for incentives trips - that is what is happening in Dubai."

The fact the UAE is "surrounded" by "vastly wealthy" countries was another reason it could guarantee an infinite stream of visitors coming for leisure, business and MICE travel, he added.

Baumgarten also played down the relevance of speculation as to the consequences of a US strike against Iran on the regional tourism industry because: "the government simply won't allow it".

WTTC's 2008 Travel and Tourism Summit is likely to take place in Dubai, but this is yet to be confirmed.

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