Suddenly, Cairo is cool

Background:

In spite of the war in Iraq, Gulf Arabs prefer holidaying in other Arab countries. Although Dubai has scant natural appeal and is little exciting in the way of history or culture, it attracts desert dwellers.

1. Read the supporting article and provide detailed answers to the case questions below.

War in Iraq was expected to wreck tourism in the Middle East. Instead, hotels are bursting. Occupancy rates in Beirut are near 100%. In July, Egypt welcomed more tourists than in any other month in his­tory, Traffic jams in downtown Cairo linger until the small hours. Prop­erty prices in Lebanon's chic hill stations are soaring. Why?

The region's biggest-spending travellers, Gulf Arabs, have abandoned jaunts to Europe and America for closer and, as luck would have it, cooler climes: while Europe bakes, the Eastern Mediterranean is enjoying ' one of the mildest summers in memory.

Gulf Arabs have long flocked to their less conservative neighbours for pleas­ures they cannot sample at home. Cairo and Beirut, and even Damascus or Amman, boast an urban buzz that is wholly absent from the sun-baked Arabian peninsula, complete with booze, gambling and unveiled girls. «We like to call it coming up for flesh air», puns a Jeddah businessman, lounging with friends in the lobby of Cairo's Semiramis Hotel.

The brashest self-promoter is Dubai. The emirate has scant natural appeal, little exciting in the way of history or culture, and is infernally hot. But it has bundled cleanliness, efficiency, fancy shopping and flashy to boast gimmicks into a surprisingly successful package. It already boasts the world's tallest hotel, its biggest artificial island (under construction), and an indoor ski slope. The latest novelty is even surer to attract parched but desert dwellers. A German investor is sinking $500 million into the world's first undersea hotel. [4]

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