Wonder when we'll see Mickey Mouse in Dubai? , Does Dubai pose a threat to Orlando?www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-cfbkassab0308mar03,0,7010081.columnhttp://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/business_tourism_aviation/2008/03/does-dubai-pose.htmlTourism pundits who aren't worried that Dubai could one day seize Orlando's title as the theme park capital of the world, take note. It could happen. Here's why:
Orlando is most at risk for continuing to lose market share among Europeans, a group that has traveled to the United States in far fewer numbers since 9-11 as a result of increased hassles at the border.
A national travel lobbying group forecasts 17 percent fewer German, 24 percent fewer French and 4 percent fewer British travelers will come to the United States this year than in 2000.
The flight from London to Dubai is even about an hour shorter than the flight from there to Orlando.
Nigel Worrall, who sells vacation homes primarily to travelers from the United Kingdom, tells me he's already feeling the heat from Dubai.
Busch Entertainment Corp.'s announcement last week that it has partnered with a developer in the United Arab Emirates to build four parks there under the SeaWorld, Discovery Cove, Aquatica and Busch Gardens flags just upped the ante even further.
"They [Brits] like what they're doing over there," Worrall, president of Florida Leisure Vacation Homes, told me. "We've certainly got some homeowners who think it's becoming a better investment out there."
And Dubai has the shiny, new factor going for it -- with everything from an indoor ski slope to a theme park centered on Ferrari/Formula 1 that could give the Middle Eastern city a stronghold in the leisure market.
Orlando's trump card, of course, remains Walt Disney World. But for how much longer will Disney stay out of the Dubai mix?
That worries John Thomerson, owner of a wholesale fruit and vegetable company in London, who rents out his second home in Kissimmee part of the year to fellow Brits.
"That would be another nail in the coffin [for Orlando] if Disney built a park there," he said.
He's been to Dubai three times in the past two years. As far as hotels go, he said, "it's the best upmarket experience I've ever encountered."
To be sure, Orlando has a lot going for it. The weather is actually cooler here in the summer than in Dubai, and it will take some time before this town's diversity and quality of attractions can be matched.
But don't be surprised if you start to hear tourism industry folks here talk about Dubai in the same way they bemoan the marketing prowess of Las Vegas.
Topic: Mickey Mouse in Dubai? WHEN ? (Read 868 times)