Just a metric?

That is at times a question and it is also at times a recognition. You see, metrics are at times just that, metics. We can sing high and low, but metrics are most of the times in a vacuum, that is until someone uses it to weave a story. You, I, we all do that. Some are clearly shown to be related, others are less so. As such the story that we see in the Khaleej Times (at https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/aviation/dubai-airport-could-join-100-million-passenger-club-this-year) could be either (initially). You see, the ‘Dubai airport could join ‘100 million passenger club’ this year’ and for the most will sing that it is just as meaningless as them joining the mile high club. But some comedians will point out that they were alone getting there. So as such it seemed like a nice thing to achieve. I saw the airport on YouTube and it does look impressive. 

So, when you consider it the numbers in a larger context it now implies that Dubai International Airport is about to become the busiest airport in the world. Leaving Heathrow far behind it and beating by a fair margin New York, Los Angeles and several other airports behind them which they should have been competing against. They are about to overtake them all. In 2022 they were fifth, they are about to get pole position in airport traffic. This implies that this airport deals with 11,415 passengers EVERY HOUR, that is some achievement, especially as Toronto Pearson International Airport (in 29th position) can’t seem to get anything right at the moment. These two metrics matter because this implies that Dubai is getting things done right and there is a connected metric. You see, I wrote about tourism (Saudi Arabia and UAE alike) and now we see a new metric. When you consider that many can only spend their holiday funds once, that a slice who are going to Dubai will not be able to go anywhere else. As such these other places will lose some visitors and that results in lower revenue in those places. I made mention of that a few days ago, but now you see a connected metric. For whatever reason these people have decided on Dubai (and the UAE) that is the underlying metric that should not be ignored. 

And the speeches are also setting the new stage that they are ready to receive 20% more. Yes, all nations will make presentations and the UAE is no different than other nations in that regard. Yet the larger station is that Dubai has a growing population for tourism. It has more options for tourism than many other nations and when you add Abu Dhabi and the sports they both hold, the appeal start making sense. People just want a nice time. They want a place where they can relax and Dubai is one of the places that delivers. Those who want to play hard go to a ditch (massively drunk) in Las Vegas, those who want to have a great time, are now deciding to give Dubai a try and the more it delivers the faster that tourism part grows. Now compare that to waiting lines. Escape from the Gringotts (Harry Potter Orlando) 45-120 minutes and some times at Disney (Orlando and Paris) are close to that horrendous. So when you can select a place with a lot less waiting times I could not see any clear numbers on Warner Brothers Abu Dhabi, but several sources claim you can see the entire WB park in a day. 

Now consider all the other places these two locations have and also consider Deep Dive Dubai (not really for the young tourists) and you end up going to a place with the most amazing and most unique diving experience that you cannot get anywhere else in the world. So others want to think this is a fab, a fashion moment? The world stood still and now others are taking charge to offer what people might like. I use the word ‘might’ because the consumer is a fickle person with no real destination in mind. Yet, as I see it. Dubai with its malls, its theme parks, even a skating rink and two Hockey teams (the real hockey on solid water) and now a growing football offering. It seems that they are doing everything right and the fact that they are about to break the 100,000,000 served passengers a year line is a pretty good indicator that they are doing it all very  right.

Enjoy the day and if you go to Deep Dive Dubai be nice to yourself and do not watch Jaws before the dive.