The time has finally come! I will be leaving for Dubai on Sunday and I’m so ecstatic! This course is filled with things I have always wanted to do. We’ll be visiting Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, World Expo 2020 Dubai, Ferrari World, Burj Khalifa and plenty more. I believe this experience will enhance my global citizenship because it’ll help me be more diverse and learn about other cultures. The best way to learn and understand something is by experiencing it yourself. U.A.E. recently celebrated their 44th birthday and the president listed a very interesting and unique 10 point plan that I think will also help the U.S. After participating in the Dubai Study Abroad program, my mom furthered her hospitality career and relocated. This proved to me that with these experiences you can become a more successful industry professional. EDUCATIONAL SITE VISIT/PRESENTATION: Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTMC) While we are on our trip, I am looking forward to the presentation from the Department of Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM). Its mission is “to position Dubai as the leading tourism destination and commercial hub in the world.” I looked on their website and it is filled with information. They are responsible for the licensing of all of the tourism services and it has a vision for 2020 which includes welcoming 20 million visitors per year by 2020. It has 20 offices worldwide to promote and educate people about Dubai. They have really made it easy for someone that is interested in visiting Dubai or someone that lives in Dubai to find events that interest them. There is a Dubai Tourism app that visitors can download and a Travel Planner to help you create a list of things to do and places to visit.
ATTRACTION: BURJ KALIFA Dubai is home to Burj Khalifa; it holds the records for: – Tallest building in the world It took six years from the beginning of the construction until it opened on January 4, 2010. It has offices, residences, Armani Hotel Dubai, fitness centers, and pools. It looks like a thin sculpture rising above all of the buildings around it. It is incredible to think how it was built – how there was so much planning involved to make sure that it can withstand the wind and the other factors that go into building skyscrapers. The architecture was done so that it could look like art but also so it could structurally stable. The design was inspired by the Hymenocallis flower (Spider Lily). The Y-shaped floor plan was done to see the Arabian Gulf and from the base or from the air, it is like the onion domes that is seen in Islamic architecture. It has high-intensity xenon lights outside to prevent air-traffic collisions. Level 122: There is a restaurant and lounge called At.mosphere. For the lounge, seating is every two hours and there is a minimum of AED 200 per person for lunch and AED 250 per person for dinner. Hymenocallis flower (Spider Lily) |