When Travelers Think Luxury, They Think Dubai

It is hard to argue the fact that Dubai is one of the most luxurious places in the world to visit, with its world-class hotels and restaurants. Despite recent economic slow downs in retail across the world, luxury brands like those produced by The Rivoli Group and Bin Hendi Enterprises saw profit increases of 20-25% over last year’s sales.

Dubai was listed as the 4^th most luxurious market, just behind Paris, New York and London. Dubai was listed second worldwide in terms of global retailer presence, at 55%, beaten only by London which has 56% of the international brands. All of this bodes well for hospitality and tourism.

New luxury hotels have been appearing, and the airport is a major stimulant for the tourism industry in Dubai. MasterCard has once again endorsed travel to Dubai by sponsoring Summer Surprises 2010, which attracted 2.3 million visitors and over $3.37 billion in spending in 2009. MasterCard’s recent survey of consumer confidence reported that 88% of consumers in the UAE have plans to increase their recreational spending throughout the remainder of 2010.

In most other areas of the world, consumer spending is down and not expected to recover anytime soon. Tourism around the globe is at the lowest rates it has been in many years. Yet tourism and luxury retail in Dubai are rebounding faster than expected. Hospitality and tourism sectors should see rapid growth in the available number of open positions as the economy continues to improve, but candidate shortages may be a problem. This is good news for job seekers that want to break into the luxury hospitality and tourism industry in Dubai.