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There was a sombre mood at this year's Arabian Travel Market, the annual industry get-together in Dubai. In happier times, developers used it as the launching pad for spectacular projects such as Dubai's vast network of man-made islands in the shape of the world. Today, all the talk is of falling revenues, cutting costs and swine flu.
Analysts at Jones Lang LaSalle say takings will fall 35% at Dubai's hotels this year, hit by a combination of fewer visitors and lower prices.
Brits are a big part of the problem. Traditionally, they're the biggest market for the city's beach hotels, but a deep recession and weak pound make Dubai too costly. Russians, Arabs and Indians — also big spenders — have taken a hit, too.
Then there's the business traveller. Admittedly some are still coming, but they are now tending to stay in cheaper hotels such as Premier Travel Inn and Holiday Inn Express, two budget British chains that recently opened for business here.
It's no better for the airlines. Etihad Airways, the second wealthy benefactor of Chelsea Football Club, tried to lift the mood by unveiling a swanky new design for its first-class cabin.
But when I asked chief executive James Hogan about traffic between Heathrow and Etihad's hub in Abu Dhabi, he admitted that even well-heeled passengers are downgrading to business class.
At the back of the bus, Etihad launched promotion return fares to London for about £40. They'll have to sell an awful lot of those to pay salaries of Messrs Terry, Lampard et al.
* Foreign investors may be poised for a welcome return to stock markets in Dubai and the Gulf region. Claire Simmonds, a vice-president at JPMorgan Asset Management, was in Dubai this week, meeting managers of local listed companies. She told me regional telephone companies were among those on her radar.
* Standard & Poor's has threatened to cut the ratings of six companies owned, or part-owned, by the Dubai government. They include Emaar Properties, a publicly traded developer that is building the world's tallest tower.
S&P put the firms on CreditWatch after another state-owned developer — Nakheel — acknowledged that it was considering restructuring a $3.5 billion bond due later this year.
