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Latest Travel Industry UpdatesDubai Developments:The phenomenon of Dubai's stellar rise into the tourist mainstream continues apace. Not least with plans for a second seven star hotel, to be located 300 metres from the coast, accsessible to guests only by boat or helicopter. The proposed 28 floor Aperiron Building will contain 438 luxury suites, spa,art gallery and an underwater restaurant. The top two floors will be dedicated to a special temperature controlled jungle environment, containing exotic species of butterflies. QE2 Floating Hotel:The now retired Cunard flagship RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 has begun her next venture under new owners Nakheel, a division of Dubai World. During almost 40 years of service, the QE2 travelled the world and latterly operated predominantly as a cruise ship, sailing out of Southampton, England. She retired from active service on 27th November 2008 to begin conversion to a floating hotel, and will eventually be moored at Palm Jumeirah, Dubai. The QE2 arrived in Dubai on the evening of 26th November 2008 in a flotilla of 120 smaller vessels, led by MV Dubai, the personal yacht of Sheikh Mohammed, ruler of Dubai. She was greeted with a fly-past from an Emirates A380 jet and a huge fireworks display, while thousands of people gathered at the Mina Rashid, waving the flags of Great Britain and the United Arab Emirates. The ship will be more or less gutted during the transformation into a hotel, which is set to take around two years. Palm Jumeirah:Over the next few years, as the tourism phases develop, The Palm Jumeirah is touted as soon to be one of the world's premier resorts. The Palm Island is the self-declared 'Eighth Wonder of the World'. The island will double the length of the Dubai coastline. After the recent opening of the opulent Atlantis The Palm, other luxury hotels set to open in the coming years on Palm Jumeirah will include:
Burj Dubai:The Burj Dubai is a supertall skyscraper currently under construction in the "Downtown Dubai" area of Dubai. Projected to be completed and occupied in 2009, the building is part of a huge development located at the "First Interchange" (aka "Defense round-about") along Sheikh Zayed Road at Doha Street. On completion, it will likely be the tallest structure in the world of any kind by a wide margin. The Burj Dubai has been designed to be the centerpiece of a large-scale, mixed-use development that will include 30,000 homes, nine hotels such as the Burj Dubai Lake Hotel & Serviced Apartments, 6 acres of parkland, at least 19 residential towers, the Dubai Mall, and the 12 hectare man-made Burj Dubai Lake. Hydropolis:The Hydropolis Underwater Hotel and Resort is a planned hotel which will be the world's first underwater luxury resort. It's situated 66 feet below the surface of the Persian Gulf, just off Jumeira Beach in Dubai. Reinforced by concrete and steel, its Plexiglas walls and bubble-shaped dome ceilings will enable guests to see fish and other sea creatures. It is basically divided into three sections: the land station, where guests will be welcomed; the connecting tunnel, which will transport people by train to the main area of the hotel; and the 2200 suites within the submarine leisure complex. It will cover an area of 670 hectares, about the size of London's Hyde Park, and will cost an estimated �1000 million. It is self-acclaimed to be a 10-star hotel. Palm Jebel Ali: WaterfrontOnce the Palm Jebel Ali has been completed it will be encircled by the Dubai Waterfront project. The project, (which will be 50 percent larger than the Palm Jumeirah,) will include six marinas, a water theme park, 'Sea Village', Busch Gardens, homes built on stilts above the water, and boardwalks that circle the "fronds" of the "palm". The Dubai Waterfront (now known as Waterfront) is expected to become the largest waterfront and largest man-made development in the world. The project is a conglomeration of canals and artificial islands; it will occupy the last remaining Persian Gulf coastline of Dubai, the most populous emirate of the United Arab Emirates. It will consist of a series of zones with mixed use including commercial, residential, resort, and amenity areas. The vision of the project is "to create a world-class destination for residents, visitors and businesses in the world's fastest growing city". Dubailand:Dubailand part of Dubai Holding, is an entertainment complex under development in Dubai. Construction of Dubailand has been divided into four phases. Work is currently been carried out on phase one. The first of four phases comprising the development of Dubailand will be completed in early 2008 since the developers decided to extend the park by 50 percent subsequently bumping up its completion date. Completion of the final phase is targeted for some time between 2015 and 2018 and is expected to be larger than Walt Disney World Resort. A few of the Dubailand facilities like the Dubai Autodrome and The Global Village are already operational.
Transport:Al Maktoum International Airport (IATA: DWC) is a major new airport under construction near Jebel Ali, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It will be officially known as Al Maktoum International Airport. It has been named after the late Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the former ruler of Dubai. It will be the main part of Dubai World Central, a planned residential, commercial and logistics complex scheme. At the heart of this huge new community is the Al Maktoum International Airport, planned as the world's largest passenger and cargo hub, ten times larger than Dubai International Airport and Dubai Cargo Village combined. Designed for the future, Al Maktoum International Airport proposes to handle all next-generation aircraft, including the A380 super-jumbo. Up to four aircraft will be able to land simultaneously, 24 hours a day, minimising in-air queuing. Dubai World Central will include:
The A-380 enabled 4.5 kilometres runway was completed within its projected 600 day construction period and will undergo strenuous tests and trials over the next six to eight months in order to fulfill its CAT III-C requirements. Meanwhile, construction of the airport's approximately US$75 million cargo terminal is 50 percent complete. The first phase of the project will see the terminal initially handle 700,000 tonnes per annum. By 2013 it is expected to become the largest of its kind in the world, handling more than 12 million tonnes of cargo annually. The project is expected to be fully built-out and operational by 2017.
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