Gulf Branding

Secret Dubai Diary posted some very thought provoking comments regarding what countries of the region, especially Dubai, will need to do in order to build a lasting tourism sector.

If the Gulf countries really want to capitalize on tourism revenues (or thrive as a global business hub for that matter), it seems there will be some thorny issues to consider, as Secret Dubai Diary points out. Who will want to walk around attractions like Dubailand on holiday in the heat if they cannot have a bottle of water and an ice cream cone? How will business address the fall of revenue as visitors shy away when Ramadan hits at peak times? I'm not sure of the laws in Dubai, but if these businesses are able to get permission to serve food and drink in the day during Ramadan, will there be blow-back from sectors of the Muslim population? Booze is less of an issue, but when non-Muslims consider paying the big bucks it takes to stay in Dubai for holiday, many people will decide to go elsewhere if they can't tip a few to unwind from their stressful lives.

At a more subtle level, I have heard and read many comments of both citizens and expats who get indignant about how visitors to Dubai dress (i.e. scantily clad women in the malls). I'm a bit torn on this. I feel like I am a guest living in Oman, so I have no problem respecting the local culture. Yet, when I go to Dubai, a place that wants to make revenue off of drawing in visitors from all over the world who pay ridiculous amounts to stay there, I feel as if people should be a bit more at liberty to dress and do as they please. If the citizens of Dubai feel differently, they and their leadership are going to have to do some serious soul-searching as to whether they want to become a global brand and sell their soul for the massive revenues or hold on to their conservatism and find another way to make money. They may have already crossed the Rubicon, though, as the massive amount of speculatory construction there is going to demand continued economic development to stave off an implosion.

It seems to me that Oman's tourism model is a bit different. Whereas Dubai is making itself up in the model of cities that are decidedly not conservative (who hasn't heard a comparison of Dubai to "Sin City" Las Vegas), Oman is trying to attract people to its natural beauty and quiet traditional settings. In this, Oman does not have to give up quite as much of its identity to draw people to this niche market.

In a related story on Gulf brands, Al-Jazeera English is having a difficult time breaking into the critical American market. That's no surprise. I haven't watched AJ English much. I find AJ Arabic to be less of the devil-child than many Americans make it out to be, especially when you consider the audience it is aimed at. If you look at the differences between CNN and FoxNews, and realize that their audiences think that both are fair and balanced, you have to imagine that Arab audiences are going to demand a much different spin for their news. This is all well and good if AJ is a brand for the Arab world. If AJ wants to become a global brand, it has quite a bit of work to do to clean up its image in the West. Marketing and business have little to do with fairness. If you please one market by pissing another market off, don't expect the other market to come running to you just because you start broadcasting in their language. Again, the question is: do you want to give up some of your freedom to be provocative in order to make money as a global brand or do you want to maintain what you see as your integrity at the expense of revenue?