The author of new book on Dubai warns that the new terror alert in the United Arab Emirates is likely to lead to a significant downturn in Dubaiโs โfragileโ tourist and real estate industries.
The Foreign Office has recently told British nationals in the United Arab Emirates that there is now a high risk of a terror attack there.
Dr Christopher Davidson, Lecturer in Middle East Politics, Durham University, outlines the terror threat in the final chapter of his new book, called โDubai: The Vulnerability of Success.โ Dubai is one of seven states in the UAE.
Dr Davidson said: โIn many ways this terror alert is long overdue, as since summer 2005 there have been a series of significant threats made to the UAE government, most of which have focused on the UAEโs close relationship with the West, in particular its discreet provision of seaport and airport facilities for the US-led coalitionโs War on Terror.
โThe UAEโs second largest emirate โ Dubai – has long been a favoured holiday destination for British and other European nationals, and since the year 2000 it has emerged as an attractive opportunity for overseas property investors.
โThese new warnings are likely to lead to a significant downturn in Dubaiโs fragile tourist and real estate industries, which it has been building up since its oil reserves began to decline in the mid 1990s.
โIn particular, Dubaiโs many luxury hotels, most of which are packed with non-Muslim and non-Arab foreigners, provide Al-Qaeda and other groups with very soft targets.โ
Further information from the Financial Times report: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a1bd7dc0-3c06-11dd-9cb2-0000779fd2ac.html
and the Daily Telegraph report:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/middleeast/uae/2145356/MI6-warns-of-terror-attack-on-Dubai.html
