Marketing Problem
The rapid development of the UAE has attracted attention from the representatives of other countries. Being one of the biggest cities in the whole UAE, Dubai turned out to gather the majority of tourists and local citizens who have the highest income. It amazes people with its magnificent nature, eye-catching architecture, and entertainment options. In particular, many individuals visit Dubai’s theme parks because they provide an opportunity to avoid unbearably hot weather and enjoy spare time with friends and families. Especially during summer months, the city is full of tourists who spend a lot of time in Ski Dubai, Wild Wadi Water Park, or Yas Waterworld, etc. (Fahy).
People of all ages have an opportunity to find something to their liking in these theme parks, which is very advantageous as it ensures that they will constantly have many clients. For instance, children can spend time playing with one another at specially created locations where their safety is ensured. Teenagers have an opportunity to play games or visit amusement rides. Adults can do the same or have a tasty lunch and communicate while their children are playing with animators. Finally, the elderly can have a rest in one of the offered locations.
Unfortunately, today, the success of theme parks can hardly be compared to their previous achievements. For example, attention can be paid to IMG Worlds of Adventure and Dubai Parks & Resorts. Both theme parks were opened recently but are already at a considerable loss. In particular, “Dubai Parks & Resorts’ loss in the three months to June 30 reached Dh59.5m, compared with a loss of Dh15.5m a year earlier” (Fahy). Being highly valued by their clients, theme parks contribute to the country’s economy significantly, that is why the underlined issue should be investigated. Millions of people visit them every year and spend money on tickets, which has a direct influence on the revenue of the entertainment sphere (Bennett). It cannot be denied that business owners spend large amounts of money on building theme parks. But their expenses are covered quickly, and further profit allows them to prosper and even to consider an opportunity of creating more impressive places.
It is vital to pay attention to the fact that even though the visitors of theme parks include both local and foreign populations, the majority of them are tourists. These individuals are not only expected to spend a lot of money on entertainment because they come to have a good time but also to use many other services offered by Dubai. People who come from abroad book hotel rooms, purchase meals in restaurants, and rent cars, which ensures economic development. In particular, attention can be paid to the following advantages:
Employment
Tourists require a lot of services, which leads to the creation of job vacancies. Many tour guides, hotel staff, etc. are needed to satisfy their needs. Businesses connected with retail and food production are also involved. In this way, Dubai can provide more workplaces, minimalizing homelessness even among immigrants.
Increased spending in the local community
Money that comes from tourism is then used by the local population for other purposes, except for entertainment. They use them to buy clothing, pay for medical services, or transportation. As a result, their purchasing capability enhances, which is beneficial for the country. The more money is received from tourism, the more profit is obtained by the representatives of the general public.
Diversification
Tourism is rather beneficial for the country and its industries because the income of this sphere provides an opportunity to be sure that in case of hard times, other industries will definitely have a source of investment. It can be considered an insurance policy, according to which not all money is distributed immediately. Those amounts that can be stored are saved for the possibility of improving local businesses. In this way, even if the main industry that provides income for Dubai will not exist anymore, the city will still have an opportunity to maintain a normal way of living as a lot of money will be gathered from tourism.
Infrastructure
Increased revenue presupposes more tax money that can be used by the government for the benefit of the community. With their help, they can develop numerous projects targeted at the improvement of local infrastructure. For example, they can focus on the building of new roads, hospitals, and public spaces. This improvement is likely to bring more visitors and benefit citizens.
Social advantages
As tourism reveals that foreigners are interested in the Arab culture, it also provides a lot of advantages in this sphere (Bennett). For example, it encourages local residents to follow their traditions, which prevents the destruction of heritage sites.
Thus, it can be concluded that tourism brings new people to Dubai, which benefits the city significantly. On the one hand, it provides theme parks with those clients who can use them to increase their revenue. On the other hand, theme parks attract foreigners and make them come to Dubai but not to other interesting places from all over the world. In this way, they benefit the local economy. Theme parks and tourism increase the quality of life of communities, establishing new services and products. In this way, they are worth targeting in the framework of local business as well.
On the basis of the discussed information, it can be stated that if theme parks in Dubai experience losses caused by the decreased number of visitors, its tourism industry is also affected negatively. As a result, the city cannot obtain an opportunity to receive all those benefits that were discussed previously. Thus, they do not only lose a chance to become better but also can hardly meet those plans that have already been developed.
Research Question and Hypotheses
Because of the lack of revenue, the owners of theme parks face the necessity to lay off employees and introduce discounts for tickets. However, it is revealed that the expected number of visitors is not attracted to visit theme parks (Fahy). As the creation of a theme park is rather costly, a lot of investors are often involved in their building. Many of them become shareholders, which means that their prosperity is also highly dependent on the success of parks’ operations. Nevertheless, the company believes that it will not have any issues with the involved parties because improvement can be reached soon. Basically, they consider that a high growth rate for park arrivals will be observed due to the reduced price, but is this intervention really enough?
In order to understand why financial losses are experienced, it is vital to answer the question “why the number of visitors to theme parks in Dubai reduces?” Thus, there is a necessity to conduct a research study that will focus on various reasons that are likely to lead to the discussed issue. For instance, the focus can be paid to such questions as:
- Are there new alternative indoor entertainment options that appeal to the local population and tourists more than theme parks?
- Do people from the UAE and other countries have a smaller income than usual?
- Are new tickets to theme parks more expensive than previously?
- Has the number of tourists who visit the UAE and Dubai, in particular, decreased?
Those questions that are listed above are more likely than others to provide enough information about the discussed issue because they focus on the motives that both make and prevent people from visiting theme parks. For example, the influence of alternative indoor entertainment options is to be considered because locals and foreigners are looking for an opportunity to avoid the summer heat. Before the creation of theme parks, they preferred malls and cinemas, and they may be more interested in them again. Visitors’ income and the price of a ticket should be considered because financial side of any problem is very influential. Finally, it is why people decided to stop on the basis of which people would have decided to stop coming to Dubai.
Thus, it is possible to develop a hypothesis that should be used as a basis for the future research study. In particular, it may be formulated as follows:
During the last two years, theme parks in Dubai are at the loss not only because ticket prices are too high, but also because the total amount of tourists in the UAE decreases, people prefer new alternative indoor entertainment options and salary reductions.
Works Cited
Bennett, Travis. “7 Advantages of Tourism in an Economy.” Udemy, 2014, Web.
Fahy, Michael. “Dubai Parks and Resorts Financial Loss Widens.” The National. 2016, Web.