The bonds of friendship and cooperation between the Emirates and Russia are becoming ever stronger every year. This was confirmed by the recent opening of a new hotel called the Moscow Hotel in Dubai on Al Maktoum Street. The name of the hotel is not Paris, or New York, but the White Stone ...
This event has become a landmark also because the hotel of the same name in the Russian capital is now under reconstruction. His Dubai namesake, of course, will not become "interim", but, you must admit, there is some mystical meaning in this ...
The opening ceremony was solemn, with the traditional cutting of a red ribbon. It was attended by an official delegation of the Moscow government, headed by Deputy Mayor Mr. Ordzhonikidze. Joseph Nikolaevich is well known to tourism business professionals: he oversees international relations, the hotel industry, tourism and gambling in the Moscow government. With him, we talked about the similarities and differences between Dubai and Moscow, about the prospects for implementing joint projects in various fields and about the construction boom that swept both cities.
“I believe,” said Joseph Nikolaevich, “that the emirate of Dubai is very similar to Moscow in many respects. Both cities are actively developing the hotel business. In a state that respects itself, tourism should always go to a new height, which will also pull other industries: hotel, food and light industry, services, transportation, communications and so on.
Accordingly, the issue of personnel training also becomes very important. To date, more “human-intensive” industry than tourism, and can not imagine. Pay attention to how much staff is required in order to serve one client in a hotel, say, a class of 4-5 stars. With the normal development of the industry, this is a minimum of eight people per guest! Now imagine how many specialists need to be trained for this. So it turns out that a whole army of people is directly dependent on the priorities chosen by the country. If suddenly someone decides to curtail the development of tourism and hotel industry, then what will professional maids, administrators and waiters do? ”
Joseph Nikolaevich especially noted the development of tourism and the hotel sector in the UAE. “We are very pleased,” he said, “that so many new hotels are being built annually in Dubai. This is really great. So, the Dubai government is, firstly, confident in those forecasts that predict a multimillion-dollar increase in the number of tourists from different countries by 2015, and secondly, 100% trust those investors who take part in all construction projects in the country.
In Moscow, for example, it is planned by 2010 to build about 250 hotels, designed for 100 thousand beds. Alas, the metropolitan government has much more problems and objective difficulties. The development of the historical center of Moscow, where, of course, our guests would like to stay, is difficult due to the huge number of cultural and historical monuments. Investments are attracted with great difficulty, and if there is a depositor, then the question of trust often arises.
I was very pleased to drive along the coastline of Jumeirah from the Burj Al Arab Hotel to Le Meridien Mina Seyahi. Honestly, well done Dubai! They can afford not to build any houses along the most beautiful beach in the city; they do not take away from the future generations of their country the wealth that belongs to all, without exception, and not to someone alone.
Today in Moscow we are acting very recklessly: since housing pays off much faster than hotels, the best plots are given for housing, and we build hotels "in the backyard".
What are the similarities between Dubai and Moscow? “The fact that representatives of 130 nationalities live in Dubai and almost 140 live in Moscow,” said Ordzhonikidze. “The only difference is that a cosmopolitan society has really formed here, where everyone respects each other, a favorable investment climate has been created for investors from all countries, there are transparent borders with neighboring states, infrastructure is developing, and we even can’t figure it out with “foreigners” from neighboring countries.
Alas, we also cannot competently manage the money that Russia has. After all, such funds that the country has at its disposal now may never exist. We can just swim in gold, but while it is sitting "uncle overseas." And you can really learn from the Emirates how and where to place their own and attracted funds so that the country flourishes.
And if Russia begins to develop its own financing infrastructure, then hotels will be built that we don’t have and will not be anywhere else in the world. And the tourism industry will finally work in full force. After all, we have all the possibilities for this: for entertainment and recreation, ecotourism, the development of balneological resorts and health resorts. Russia has much more advantages - museums, theaters, art galleries, and unique natural monuments. And not only in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Our country is huge. It is necessary to correctly advertise and promote all this, sparing no means and effort, as other countries do. And the results will not be long in coming. "
As an afterword, Joseph Nikolayevich said that during such trips and meetings at the highest level, considerable experience in communication and mutual understanding is gained. “We realized that today in Dubai much attention is paid to Russian businessmen and investors. This is very nice. It seems that your work on the publication of a Russian-language magazine in the UAE contributes a lot to this,” he summed up our conversation.
Muscovites left. The Moscow Hotel has remained ... And if you ever get a heartache and grieve for your Motherland, go to Al-Maktoum Street, where you will be greeted by "Moscow windows with an inextinguishable light."
Interviewed by Irina Ivanova
