Travel to Dubai and aid a nation’s recovery

Sick of plodding along to the library every morning, getting up at the crack of dawn just to secure a decent seat? Thinking of ditching town post-exams for something a little brighter and completely void of British rain? Dubai may not seem like the typical choice for students but as a cost-effective option this summer, it shouldn’t be ruled out.

With financial troubles in the United Arab Emirates over the past decade, Dubai suffered more than most as tight credit led to property values falling by as much as 64 percent from 2001 to 2008. As real estate and construction make up circa 22.6 percent of the Dubai economy, it thus required extensive support from the oil rich and largest emirate Abu Dhabi. The world’s tallest man-made building was re-named Burj Khalifa from Burj Dubai in acknowledgement of the debt owed to Abu Dhabi and its Emir, UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Despite its troubles, however, the United Arab Emirates’ economy quickly recovered, achieving growth levels last year of 4.4 percent.

As its economy picks up again, Dubai hopes to continue further with its impressive construction plans, which include building a new city with 100 hotels, a Universal Studios entertainment centre, and a public park 30 percent bigger than Hyde Park.

It is easy to see why Dubai has achieved such a remarkable recovery; it thrives off of tourism, recently being ranked 6^th in global tourism by the Master Card Global Destination Index. With a knack for record breaking structures such as the Burj Khalifa, the world’s largest mall by area (Dubai Mall) and its most expensive hotel (the Burj al Arab), as well as exotic 7-star hotels and sunny beaches, it is not surprising that arrival numbers have grown by 10.9 percent and overall passenger traffic has jumped by 18.7 percent since last year.

As a port for trade and passing air traffic it is fairly straight forward to find inexpensive flights to Dubai, often cheaper than flights to other hot-spots such as the USA or Southeast Asia. Once there you could try your luck on hostels.com or hostelworld.com, but being a world of hotels (many sights of interest are either attached to or in hotels) looking for a decent package deal is probably a better move; unless you have friends to stay with of course.

So what does this hub of expats and blend of the world’s many nationalities have to offer? The 28^th of May episode of “the Apprentice takes on Dubai” offer’s a clue; shopping. There are enough malls with modern shops to satisfy anyone, but if you feel confident and unlike Lord Sugar’s contestants want to get your money’s worth, try your bargaining skills in one of the local markets (souks) such as Bur Dubai. Though beware, the local salesmen are tough and stubborn and will try to charge you ridiculous amounts by default, simply for being foreign. If possible, go with a local ‘non-expat looking’ friend well-versed in reasonable souk prices. However, if lacking such a friend then divide their initial asking price by about 9 or 10 and commence the haggling. A couple of tips, if you have decided on a price you are willing to pay then stick to it from doing the ‘pretend to leave’-move all the way to finally paying for your purchase; keep translating back to pounds (currently 5.6 UAE Dirham to 1 GBP) to ensure you can’t get the real deal for less in TK Maxx at home; and, if it is gold you are after you may actually get better deals in the Gold & Diamond Park than at one of the souks.

It is true, Dubai is not as cheap as back packing around Southeast Asia or Latin America, alcohol is often limited to hotels and close to London prices and the big tourist attractions are generally priced £15 to £40. However, metered taxis are really cheap; you can get good food at decent prices and entry to one of the beaches is just a couple of pounds.

Ladies just note, you may want to avoid the beach on Fridays evenings when local workers descend on it en masse in the hope to eye down bikini-clad women. As long as you watch out for the big ‘NO NO’s such as extreme public displays of affection (other than hand-holding and innocent kissing), taking or selling drugs or advertising escort services online you are free to enjoy all the glitter and glamour mixed with the oriental delicacies that Dubai has to offer.

Dubai isn’t going to be to everyone’s tastes. Yet it clearly seems to be appealing to enough people to ensure it is still going strong, and it could be idea if you’re looking for a getaway this summer.