Most would say that Dubai is synonymous with hyperbole; a vibrant city constantly in pursuit of superlatives and often touted as a homage to excess. The evolution of Dubai from a dusty hinterland to a dynamic global heavyweight boasting, what has been dubbed as a skyline on crack, has earned multiple bouquets and brickbats.

Dubai has long been a trading hub for centuries for nascent entrepreneurs and traders from around the region. In a little over three decades, this second largest emirate in the United Arab Emirates has achieved tremendous results and there are no brakes to the galloping pace of this booming metropolis. With rapidly dwindling oil reserves, grandiose ventures are now de rigueur. The city lays claim to a surfeit of statistics and records that cause a stir and yet it certainly doesn’t shy away from bold-faced headlines. Audacity, as most of the residents know, is an intrinsic quality of the city.

Often billed as the city that just won’t quit, Dubai is more than a proliferation of iconic, glinting skyscrapers. Numerous high calibre international corporations have already set up in the burgeoning ‘cities’ like the Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City, Dubai Festival City in the last couple of years lured by its tax-free zone status. Furthermore, the establishment of the Dubai International Financial Centre in 2004 has lured in top-notch financial companies to these shores and bolstered its financial repute.

In a strategic move away from its oil dependence, Dubai has launched its own colossal marketing campaign that has primed Dubai as a thriving tourist destination. There’s a projected reach of 15 million tourists by the year 2010. The estimated number of current residents in Dubai is 1.4 million; this includes locals as well as expatriates from over 100 countries making Dubai a veritable melting pot of cultures.

Dubai’s a city that works hard to play hard and this isn’t more palpable than in the exhilarating culinary and entertainment scene. With a plethora of restaurants - from the swanky to the modest - scattered across the city, Dubai has also successfully emerged as a spectacular dining destination.

In a nutshell, Dubai has the resources, the drive and the flair to transcend expectations.

So, in answer to the question, ‘Why Dubai?’ the apt response would be ‘Why not?’

<< Back