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Dubai To Export Skiers To U.S; They Can Afford It

By Patrick Thorne
November 17, 2008

Dina Al Herais, Vice President Commercial Operations, Emirates Holidays, said: "As part of our philosophy to keep our product fresh, innovative, and exciting in line with our customers' expectations, this year we have added the U.S. as our latest destination with some fabulous packages on offer."

With gas prices only recently dropping, Dubai is, not surprisingly, hardly suffering the economic slowdown of Europe and North America. Its residents can afford the best facilities in town when others are cutting back.

Emirates Holidays ski package in Aspen, valid throughout the season, costs from 16,750 AED (United Arab Emeriates Dirhams) - US$4,560 - per person, based on double occupancy. The package includes seven nights' accommodation with American breakfast at the five-star St Regis Aspen Resort, return Economy Class fare between Dubai, Houston, and Denver, room tax, and service charges.

Emirates Holidays have opted for the Yarrow Resort Hotel at Park City at a mere 9,420 AED (US$2,560) per person, also double occupancy. This includes seven nights' accommodation with American breakfast, room tax, service charges, and return Economy Class fare between Dubai, Houston, and Salt Lake City.

The U.S. destinations are offered alongside famous-name choices in the European Alps including Kitzbühel, Austria; Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy; Courchevel, France; and Zermatt and St. Moritz, Switzerland.

How many of the skiers making the journey from Dubai to ski the U.S. will actually be Dubai nationals remains to be seen. Eighty-five percent of the country’s 1.5 million residents are reported to be expatriates and 75 percent of the population are male.

Skiers booking with the company also can arrange beginner lessons before they go, if first-timers, or refresher-classes if more experienced, as part of their holiday.

The Ski Dubai snow dome has welcomed well more than two million visitors since opening, introducing many, if not most, to snow sports for the first time. Similar facilities in Europe and Asia are credited with growing the number of skiers and boarders who then travel to destination resorts. So much so that resorts in the Alps increasingly advertise in them, send their ski schools to work in them, open themed restaurants in them, and offer special package deals to their resorts from them. The resort of Solden, in Austria, even has funded the construction of an indoor snow centre in its core German market.

The first North American indoor ski center, Xanadu, at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, is scheduled to open next year.

What It Means: What we "gaveth" at the pump over the summer, perhaps can be "taketh" back (at least a little bit) in the mountains this winter.

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