The emirate, the single largest tourism destination in the region, last year catered to 9.3 million guests that helped generate Dh16 billion in revenue.

Khalid Ahmad Bin Sul-ayem, DTCM director general, said the number of hotel guests is expected to cross 10 million this year. He said the Arab Spring may have helped the emirate’s tourism industry.

“People who were planning to travel elsewhere in the region last year might have had to change plans and travel to Dubai due to our readiness, the expanded infrastructure, good connectivity and tourism attractions already in place. So it might have helped us in a way,” he told Gulf News.

“I’ve exhausted every avenue that I can see,” Peter Margetts, 48, a former property developer, told the Financial Times from a prison pay phone. “I’ve exhausted the legal system, the lawyers have their hands tied here and they’re not going to rock the boat.”

Mr Margetts is one of three British prisoners who started a hunger strike on Sunday. Other jailed businessmen come from Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lebanon, India and Pakistan.

Many of the hunger strikers fell victim to Dubai’s once-thriving real estate market, struggling to meet their payments when boom turned to bust in 2008. Twelve face sentences of more than 20 years because each bounced cheque can translate into a jail term of up to three years.

Mr Margetts has served three years of a more than 20-year sentence for 49 bounced cheques. The cheques bounced after a fraudulent developer stole money from him, he said. “Obviously it’s at the beginning [of the hunger strike] but I’m a strong sort of character – I got myself out of a really difficult life, I’ve always been a fighter I’m not going to give up,” he said.

The first two tranches of the bond are worth more than 4 billion dirhams ($1.09 billion), part of a $16 billion debt restructuring. The first tranche was issued last August and the second is due by the end of this month.

Lootah said he expected Nakheel would agree to pay about 15 percent of the amount outstanding after the second tranche, or around 800 million dirhams, in further tranches.

Nakheel, which was at the centre of a debt crisis in Dubai in 2009 when real estate prices crashed, said its 2011 profit was 1.3 billion dirhams ($353.93 million), up from 1 billion dirhams in 2010.

The company overstretched itself with ambitious projects such as man-made palm tree-shaped islands, and was brought under direct government control as part of the restructuring of its parent Dubai World.

Nakheel wrote off up to $21.4 billion of its real estate assets due to the property crisis, a bond prospectus issued by the developer last year showed.

Dubai house prices have fallen more than 60 percent from a 2008 peak, but Lootah said signs of resurgence were visible.

“The market is picking up so there was no need for impairments (in 2011),” said Lootah. “It’s the start of the recovery.”

By turning to the tribunal, DryDocks World is trying to secure legal cover for its turnaround effort despite the objections of some creditors.

“We take this step to protect the interests of the vast majority of the group’s syndicated lenders, the clients, suppliers and wider stakeholders who continue to support the business,” Chairman Khamis Juma Buamim said in a statement.

Lawyers for the company presented their case Monday before the tribunal’s head judge in a dark wood-paneled courtroom at the emirate’s Dubai International Financial Center. The company is seeking protection under Decree No. 57, a law issued by Dubai’s ruler in 2009. The company made the filing Sunday.

The legislation allows subsidiaries of state conglomerate Dubai World, such as DryDocks World, to apply for protection from creditors through the court. It also includes a provision that a restructuring plan approved by two-thirds of lenders can become binding on all creditors.

On Saturday, the company said a “significant majority” — but not all — of its creditors had signed on to the debt restructuring plan.

Baffert’s assistant, Jim Barnes, said from Santa Anita racetrack in Arcadia, Calif., that Baffert was “doing very good” after having three stents inserted in two arteries. Barnes said he had spoken to the trainer’s wife, Jill, who had accompanied her husband to the Middle East, along with their young son, Bode.

Barnes said Jill Baffert told him the procedure went well and “everything should be fine.”

Bernie Schiappa, co-owner of Game On Dude, said the 59-year-old trainer wasn’t feeling well on the long flight to Dubai, and was tired after visiting the barn and arriving at the hotel. He said Baffert then fell ill early Monday morning and was taken to a hospital.

“He had a heart attack, two arteries were blocked, 100 percent in one, 90 percent in the other,” Schiappa said by phone from Dubai. “He had two stents put in one artery, one stent in the other.”

Schiappa said paramedics arrived and an ambulance took Baffert to a hospital. Sheikh Mohammed was alerted and he arrived at the hospital to visit Baffert, who has trained horses for the ruler of Dubai.

Schiappa said it’ll be about eight to 10 days before the trainer would be allowed to travel home. It was not known whether Baffert would attend Saturday’s race.

“He’s comfortable now,” Barnes said. “They caught it just in time.”

The Daily Racing Form, which first reported Baffert’s condition, posted a 13-second cell phone video with him speaking from his hospital bed.

“When you have Sheik Mo come visit you … this is when you know you are being well taken care of,” Baffert said in the video.

Game On Dude, runner-up in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, is a top contender for the Dubai World Cup. The horse is co-owned by retired Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees manager Joe Torre.

Baffert is a three-time winner of the Kentucky Derby, and has several top prospects for the May 5 race. He has also won the Preakness Stakes five times and the Belmont Stakes once. He’s saddled seven Breeders’ Cup winners. The white-haired Baffert, one of the most recognizable figures in U.S. horse racing, is a three-time Eclipse Award winner as outstanding trainer.

Britain was the biggest feeder market of tourists to Dubai for many years. But although the total number of visitors to the emirate increased last year, the number of hotel guests from Britain fell more than 10 per cent to 643,196, compared with 719,889 the previous year, according to figures from Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.

“We still believe there is more to be done here in the UK to really showcase the breadth of offering in Dubai,” said Ian Scott, the tourism department’s director for the UK and Ireland.

“Our latest research revealed there are myths still prominent in people’s perceptions of Dubai, so this consumer and trade activity will tackle these misconceptions head-on,” Mr Scott said.

Negative perceptions identified among people in the UK who have never been to the emirate include the beliefs that Dubai has no cultural offerings; is all five-star luxury with few affordable options; is restrictive for tourists in terms of nightlife and dress; and is not suitable for families.

The tourism agency’s campaign will include advertorials and online video interviews in which families that have been to Dubai talk about their experiences.

“Dubai’s growth as a tourist destination is a tribute to its progressive advertising and promotional campaigns,” said Gaurav Sinha, the managing director of Insignia, a brand communications firm.

“I think it’s important for Dubai to continue lifting the veil on the various attractions and unique offerings of the destination. There are many contradicting perceptions in the UK about Dubai which will be addressed by this initiative.

The tabloid news culture within UK has over-sensationalised incidents which are far from the truth.”

“I will not be surprised if the austere economic circumstances within the UK have been pivotal to the weakened spirit of overseas travel by its citizens,” Mr Sinha said. “VisitBritain has actively promoted staycations, with politicians and celebrities alike setting examples by taking domestic holidays.”

Hoteliers agree that the weakness in the UK economy has played a role in the dip in the visitor flows from Britain.

“Yes, there has been a noticeable decline from there,” said Habib Khan, the general manager of the Arabian Courtyard hotel in Dubai. “The decline is not to Dubai only; the decline is generally. Outbound has declined. People are trying to save money.”

Dubai was previously promoted largely as a luxury, five-star destination, but the emirate has shifted its tourism marketing strategy in recent years, with prices of hotels also falling sharply from their peaks and far more budget accommodation on offer.

This has helped Dubai to appeal to a larger range of tourists, particularly from emerging markets.

Strong growth in tourism from Saudi Arabia and India to Dubai last year meant that those countries overtook the UK as the emirate’s largest and second-largest sources of tourists. Britain slipped to third place.

Hotels have in part attributed the surge in business last year to the Arab Spring, as tourist flows were diverted from countries including Egypt and Bahrain to the UAE.

Dubai enjoyed an overall increase of 10 per cent in the number of hotel guests in the emirate last year over the previous year, reporting a total of 9.3 million tourists. The average length of stay rose 12 per cent to 3.6 days, while revenue grew by 20 per cent last year to Dh16 billion, according to figures from the tourism department.

Locals frequently sited tradition and jobs as justification for eating hamour, for example, one of the most overfished species in the world, and law enforcement was virtually non-existent. But new tallies that reveal historically low fish stocks have compelled the Dubai Municipality to step up efforts to curb sales of undersized fish and restore balance to the Gulf’s ecosystem.

Live Aquatic Wealth

The “Development and Sustainability of Live Aquatic Wealth” campaign launched last week will involve educating fishermen, stores, hotels, and others involved in the industry about the importance of leaving immature fish in the sea so that they will have a chance to reproduce.

Young king fish, hamour, gish and pomfret are among the 14 most vulnerable fish species in the Gulf that will be carefully monitored. Anyone who sells a fish that is smaller than 17 to 42 cm, depending on the species, faces an initial fine of $270. After the third infraction, their operation will be shut down.

Mohammed Al Marri, the chairman of the Dubai Fishermen’s Cooperative Association, told The National that this move will put great pressure on people who rely on fishing for sustenance.

What about the fishermen?

“To stop it means taking away livelihoods”, he told the paper. “To put rules, we must sit with different departments and discuss it. It is not an easy solution but it can be slowly stopped,” he added.

Darren Hilz, the project manager of sustainable fisheries at the Emirates Wildlife Society in Dubai, voiced particular concern about juvenile fish, but concedes that this is an excellent step for Dubai that could have a ripple effect in other Emirates.

“We will be there to see who is catching small fish,” Khalid Sharif, director of the food control department at Dubai Municipality told The National, adding ”They will be fined and the fish will be confiscated.”

Fish is a valuable natural resource that has been carelessly managed over the last few decades. Rapid development, overfishing, and pollution have all contributed to a breakdown of the Gulf’s ecosystem – something that environmentalists have been warning against for years.

The two players were trying to get over the pain of losing in the semi-finals of last month’s Australian Open, but it was the Swiss maestro who left the Middle East a happy man by winning 7-5, 6-4.

It was another disappointment for Murray. He lost an epic match in Melbourne to eventual winner and world number one Novak Djokovic, but had turned on the style to defeat the Serbian in the semi-final in Dubai.

Despite that morale booster, he couldn’t find a way past Federer.

Murray may have a good record against Federer, but this is the fifth win in Dubai for the veteran.

“This is perfect. This is great. Any title is a good one, I’ll tell you that,” Federer said. “I have a losing record against Murray, I do believe, and not against Novak…I don’t want to say (beating Murray) means more to me, but it’s a beautiful victory.”

Amazingly, it’s the 72^nd title in Federer’s glittering career.

Murray, who has yet to win a major title despite appearing in three finals was philosophical about his defeat.

“For sure, I made a few too many mistakes in the second, and he was playing a lot more aggressive than in the first set,” Murray said. “Sets can come down to just a couple (of) points. You get a lucky shot here or one great shot and you can break the set wide open.”

The women’s competition was won by Agnieszka Radwanska, the fifth seed in her first appearance in the tournament, and she pocketed just over $400,000,

She defeated Julia Georges by exactly the same score line as the men’s final.

The Pole may have been helped by the withdrawal of world number one Victoria Azarenka and number three Petra Kvitova, but she shrugged off their absence.

“Winning big tournaments is always great for the confidence. Even if those two girls pulled out, it’s a lot of other great players playing,” she said.

Earlier the world number 22 Maria Kirilenko knocked out Monica Niculescu 6-3, 6-0 and entered the second round of the Dubai Open.

Kirilenko needed one hour and twenty four minutes to dispatch the world number 32 at the centre court on the opening day of the tournament.

The Russian had a shaky start as she was trailing in the first set but returned to dominate after being down 2-1 at one stage. After winning the first, she gave no chance to the Romanian in the second set and comfortable won it 6-0.

“I can’t say it was difficult start. It was close three games of the first set which I lost but I think I did everything right and just continued to play the same and then it was easy,” said Kirilenko.
World number 28 Flavia Pennetta defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the next round.

In other first round matches, wild card entry Shahar Peer overwhelmed Fatma Al Nabhani 6-3, 6-1, Iveta Benesova downed Casey Dellacqua 6-1, 7-5 and  Simona Halep beat Arantxa Rus 6-2, 6-2.

In the doubles, the pair of Su-Wei Hsieh and Shuai Peng outlasted Daniela Hantuchova and Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-4 at the court number one.

Meanwhile, Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has been forced to withdraw from the Dubai Open due to a viral infection.

The Czech, number two seed at the $2 million tennis event, was disappointed at having to miss a tournament she had been looking forward to for months.

“I am really sorry to have gotten sick prior to the start,” she said.
Lucie Safarova will step into Kvitova’s place with a first round bye, and a qualifier will take Safarova’s place in the draw.

The expansion to the mall, which had more than 54 million visitors in 2011, is expected to take The Dubai Mall and Downtown Dubai into the next era in retailing, entertainment and lifestyle.

The addition will include new hotel rooms as well as entertainment and lifestyle choices. The Dubai Mall currently has over 1,200 stores and 160 F’&’B outlets. This will be further strengthened with several additions and extensions to its retail spread.

Last week, the global building database Emporis ranked Dubai Mall as the ninth largest shopping mall in the world with gross leaseable area of 3,769,995 square feet. New South China Mall Dongguan, China is said to be the world’s largest with 6,459,993 square feet of gross leaseable area, Chicago Tribune said quoting Emporis.

Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman, Emaar Properties, said: “Dubai Mall is a powerful demonstration of the competencies that Emaar has developed in retail, regarded as one of the core sectors of Dubai’s economy. Our contribution builds on the strategic vision and development goals outlined by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

He explained that the expansion is in line with the continuous evolution in customer expectations and aspirations. “Just as the expectations of customers are changing, the retailing sector is also witnessing rapid shifts. Through our expansion programme, we will use the most advanced technologies to offer an integrated mix of retail and entertainment that will meet the requirements of our visitors.”

Emaar recently launched a project to build a 820-metre long pedestrian link that directly connects the Burj Khalifa/The Dubai Mall Metro Station with the mall, scheduled to be operational in 2013.

“The overall expansion programme will not only consolidate The Dubai Mall as the most visited shopping and tourism centre but will also establish Downtown Dubai as the most desirable lifestyle destination in the world,” said Alabbar.