Dubai Travel Guide

22,500 square metres covered with real snow all year round. Ski Dubai has 5 runs that vary in difficulty, height and gradient, the longest run being 400 meters with a fall of over 60 meters. Test your skills on the world’s first indoor black run or practice your turns on the gentle beginner slopes. Skiers and snowboarders of all skill levels will enjoy these various slopes and snowboarders can also practice their stunts in the Freestyle Zone. Kids and parents alike will have fun in the huge interactive Snow Park, which at 3000 square meters is the largest indoor snow park in the world.

Features of Dubai Ski Resort:
22,500m² covered with real snow all year round – (equivalent to 3 football fields)
Temperature maintained at a comfortable -1º to -2º
85 meters high (approximately 25 stories) and 80 meters wide
5 different runs of varying difficulty and length, longest run of 400 meters
Full capacity of 1500 guests
Freestyle zone

Corporate and group bookings
3,000m² Snow Park with a snow cavern
Quad chairlift, tow lift and flying carpets
Mountain resort theme
Rental of quality equipment and clothing included in the ticket price
Qualified professional instructors
State of the art ticketing system

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Skiing is now a very popular sport in Dubai. In the earlier times, skiing is played by those who are more “brave at heart” or those individuals who are more into sports. The popularity of skiing is such that it is played not only in temperate areas of the world, such as in North America and most of the European countries with pronounced ice formation. Today, skiing in hotter countries, such as Dubai is now possible, with the help of technology.

Basic characteristics
The second largest of the seven emirates of the more liberal United Arab Emirates, Dubai is strategically situated in the southern most shore of the Arabian Gulf. It has a total area of 3,900 square kilometers, which is large enough for a commercial development. The population however, is almost concentrated in the city proper. Latest population is approximately at 1.68 million, and is expected to increase to 3.5 million in 2010. More than 70 percent of the city’s population is expatriates, which is composed of Arab, Asians, European, and considerable number coming from Asia and Africa. Outside of the city, the population of the Emirate is sparsely distributed.

Dubai has a sub-tropical, dry climate. Most of the year, blue skies can be expected outdoor. Dubai as a whole is characterized by desert vegetation, and rainfall is infrequent and irregular. It normally falls during winter.

The growth of the Real Estate market in Dubai is protected from whatever fluctuations taking place in oil prices based on short and medium term. In fact, it is estimated that higher prices will only spur on the growth to higher speeds. The value of some of the Real Estate projects in GCC, Iran, and Iraq has already crossed $750 billion. Nearly 33% of this is concentrated in the United Arab Emirates with Dubai contributing the maximum. This figure is higher than the combined GDP in the same region, which is lower than $700 billion. According to expert estimates this trend will continue despite the fact that the oil prices are expected to fall in the short and medium term.

One key thing to note is that so far the growth of Dubai has been consistently defying all analysts. Since the past 5 years all sorts of experts have been saying that it is about time the Real Estate market in Dubai stopped being so profitable but so far the bubble has not burst. Though such growth has never been sustainable before no one is able to explain why it continues to thrive in Dubai. The GCC has the 17th largest economy in the world comprising of 500,000 high income earners and a GDP of $525 billion. The total ½ trillion dollar economy creates more than $500 billion in revenue that is used for investment. This volume is believed to boost the Real Estate and construction sector in Dubai.

With a growth rate of 25% per year the UAE GDP is expected to reach anywhere from Dh 500-900 billion by the year 2010. The UAE has already surpassed Egypt as the 2nd largest economy in the Arab countries. It is now second to Saudi Arabia which is going through its own explosive growth period. The projects in UAE total at around $225 billion with Dubai holding nearly $125 billion. (more…)