Disneyland Abu Dhabi will give Disney untapped potential
MSM
The upcoming Disneyland Park in Abu Dhabi is expected to impose a powerful spell on the glittering Middle East state economy, which will also allow Disney’s magic to provide for those unable to visit its parks.
It’s no secret that Abu Dhabi is building theme parks to diversify its economy. Its wealth is built on fossil fuels, but as its reserves begin to run out, it brings the Global Theme Park Giants to the coast to drive tourism revenue. It's far from the only magic they have.
Although Abu Dhabi and neighboring Dubai are regarded as a playground for perfectly suited to the world's wealthiest people, the vast majority of their residents are far away from billionaires. There are good reasons.
Develop a leisure sector to diversify a country's economy, not just a wave of wands. To this end, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and other five states that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have established huge facilities and hired thousands of people to work in it. They tend to come from nearby countries where they may not have income as much as the UAE.
It explains why 88.5% of the UAE's 11.4 million residents are expats, according to global media insights. The number of expats from the United States is reflected in its numerous shops and restaurants that have already traveled to the UAE. They include chains such as Applebee, Dickey's BBQ Pit and IHOP to fine restaurants such as UrthCaffé and Sarabeth in California, which began in 1981 on a small bakery on Amsterdam Street in New York – Kitch.
88.5% of UAE residents are expats, making it a hub for international brands (photos by FrançoisLochon/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
Francois Lochon
Nevertheless, the number of foreigners in the UAE is pale compared to the 5.9 million people from India and Pakistan. Together, they represent more than half of the UAE’s total population, many of whom are responsible for building spectacular towering buildings scattered across the national landscape.
It explains why data from the California Institute of Economics suggests that the average annual salary in the UAE is $48,993 (AED 179,949) and the U.S. is $66,991, proving that you don’t have to be a billionaire to live there.
The UAE has a very wide water catchment area, as one-third of the world's population is located in the country's four-hour flight. It is also part of the world's largest global airline hub, with 120 million passengers traveling through Abu Dhabi and Dubai every year. To welcome them as workers and tourists, the UAE has the most friendly visa regulations in any country.
As the author reports, the UAE and the Middle East are often home to many of the world's most passionate Disney fans. So much so that when Disney announced at the height of the pandemic, it would close nearly all of its iconic stores, and focus on online sales, it opened a landmark new export in Kuwait.
However, despite Disney’s enthusiasm, many residents of the UAE and the nearby five Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are unable to visit its theme parks.
Although Disney has six resorts worldwide, its Middle East and North Africa Instagram account only looks at two of them as it describes itself as an “official information guide, amazing experiences about Disneyland Paris, Disney Cruise, Disney Cruise and Walt Disney World”. That's because Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney World in Orlando have been the studio's most popular outposts in history, for travelers from the Middle East. However, in recent years, the children who have arrived there are still far away.
Disneyland Abu Dhabi will enable North Africa and Asia fans to realize their dreams, which are difficult to access other Disney parks
Disney
Subair Thekepurathvalappil, senior manager of Wise Fox Tourism, said in May when announcing Disneyland Abu Dhabi, Khaleej Times For many UAE residents, it can be difficult to obtain newspapers with their recent French visa where Disneyland is currently located. In contrast, the UAE not only has a simpler tourist visa process, but it will introduce a GCC unified visa, which will allow travelers to visit Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain without additional paperwork.
“There is already a lot of talk in the tourism industry about Disneyland Abu Dhabi. We hope this will be a huge blow, especially once a unified GCC tourist visa is in effect. It will be essential for anyone coming to the region,” Thekepurathvalappil explained. “Emirati families dream of Disney magic and no longer need a passport.”
The impact on this is exposed Khaleej Times In May, 23.7% of visa applications submitted by UAE residents in the Schengen region were rejected. This is not because of the UAE, but because of the diversity of its residents is based on nationality. According to the Arnot Capital Global Passport Power ranking, 11.5% of the population with the best passport in the world benefited from the best passport in the world and traveled to 133 countries without a visa.
Dark clouds are not only hanging over Europe. The latest data from the National Tourism and Tourism Administration shows that the number of overseas tourists in the United States fell 4.9% in July in the previous year, reaching 86.6% of pre-pandemic levels despite being one of the busiest seasons of the year. It is the latest development in a month-long trend, with international arrivals down 6.6% in June.
It follows a series of high-profile rejections for everyone from ambassadors to ordinary travelers. Indeed, in April, a story of an Indian man posted his two-week visa on Reddit, and after visiting Disney World in Orlando, his visa was denied after only 40 seconds.
In fact, the recent report Bay News It was revealed that India is one of the top ten Asian countries with the highest visa rates to other countries in the United States, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and China, which together account for 74.3% of the UAE population.
Indian expats visit Hindu temples in Dubai (photo taken by Waleed Zein/Anadolu agent via Getty Images)
Anadolu Agency by Getty Images
Almost half of the visa applications formulated by Bangladesh have been denied high barriers to its residents visiting Disney's American International theme parks. Bangladesh accounts for 7.38% of the UAE population, which clearly illustrates the potential of Disneyland Abu Dhabi. The more people visit the park, the more money will flow into its leisure industry. As Mohamed Al Zaabi, pioneering owner of Abu Dhabi theme park operator Miral, explained to the author in 2023, the strategy is “about diversification of Abu Dhabi’s economy.”
Miral didn’t stop at Disney because it acknowledged that there were other parks locals wanted to visit in Orlando. Seaworld is one, and Miral opened its state-of-the-art outpost period in 2023.
Harry Potter is another one. The attraction with the theme of Boy Wizard was found in Universal Studios Parks, but as this report recently explained, Miral will be the only other operator when they open in Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi recently made his recent debut in the Porter movie’s props exhibition, similar to the zoomed version of London’s popular behind-the-scenes tour. It's not the size of a tour, but it's enough to satisfy the locals when waiting for the Porter theme park attractions.
By contrast, when Disneyland Abu Dhabi opened, it was probably the largest park for rats. It is expected to be the edge of the Star Wars Galaxy, thus offering Abu Dhabi another raffle from Orlando. The park may be a few years away from opening, but it is already a strong force in Abu Dhabi.