The real reason for the construction of Disneyland in Abu Dhabi

The next Disneyland park in Abu Dhabi is expected to launch a powerful spell on the economy of the sumptuous Middle East state and it will also make Disney magic available to people who could otherwise visit its parks.

It is not a secret for anyone that Abhabi builds themed parks to diversify his economy. His fortune was built on fossil fuels, but as his reservations are starting to run out, he brought the giants of the world theme park on his coast to generate tourism income. It is far from being the only magic touch they have.

Although Arti -Dhabi and neighboring Dubai are considered playgrounds exclusively for the richest people in the world, the vast majority of their residents are far from the billionaires. There is a good reason for that.

Developing a leisure sector to diversify the economy of a country takes more than the wave of a magic wand. To do this, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the other five states that make up the United Arab Emirates (Water), built tentacular installations and hired hundreds of thousands of people to work there. They tend to come from neighboring nations where they may not win as much as they do to water.

He explains why 88.5% of the 11.4 million water residents are expatriates according to Global Media Insight. The number of expatriates from the United States is reflected in the wide range of its stores and restaurants that have headed for water. They include everything, from channels like Applebee’s, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit and IHOP with refined restaurants such as Urth Caffé in California and Sarabeth who started life as a small bakery-Kitchen on Amsterdam in New York in 1981.

However, the number of American expatriates with the United Arab Emirates is compared to the 5.9 million India and Pakistan. Together, they represent more than half of the total population of the United Arab Emirates and many of them are responsible for the construction of spectacular imposing structures dispersed through the landscape of the country.

He explains why data from the Economic Research Institute based in California show that the average annual wages of water amounts to $ 48,993 (AED179 949) against $ 66,991 in the United States, proving that you do not need to be a billionaire to live.

The United Arab Emirates have a large watershed to rely because a third of the world’s population is located in a four -hour flight in the country. It is also part of the world’s largest airline center in the world, with 120 million passengers traveling every year through Abu Dhabi and Dubai. In order to welcome them as workers and tourists, the United Arab Emirates have some of the most friendly visa regulations in all countries.

As this author has reported, water and the Middle East in general shelter many most passionate Disney fans in the world. So much so that when Disney announced at the height of the pandemic, he would close almost all of his emblematic stores to focus rather on online sales, he opened a new historic point of sale in Kuwait.

However, although they are fervent Disney fans, many water residents and the five nations near the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) cannot visit its theme parks.

Although Disney has six stations around the world, its Instagram account in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) focuses on two of them because it describes itself as “the official guide for information on incredible experiences at Disneyland Paris, Disney Cruise Line and Walt Disney World”. Indeed, Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney World in Orlando have always been the most popular outposts of the studio for travelers in the Middle East. However, in recent years, getting there has been far from the child’s game.

When Disneyland Abu Dhabi was announced in May, Subair the Kepurathvalappil, Senior Director at Wise Fox Tourism, told the Khaleej times The newspaper with a visa in France, where the nearest Disneyland is currently located, can be difficult for many water residents. On the other hand, not only have a simpler tourist visa process, but it is ready to introduce a unified CCG visa which will allow travelers to visit Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain without the need for additional documents.

“There are already a lot of discussions in the travel industry on Disneyland Abu Dhabi. We expect it to be a massive success, especially once the tourist visa of the unified CCC will come into force. This will be a must for anyone who came in this region,” said the Kepurathvalappil. “Passports will no longer be necessary for the families of water dreaming of Disney Magic.”

The impact of this was exposed in a report separated by the Khaleej times In May, which revealed that 23.7% of visa requests from the European Schengen area filed by water residents were rejected last year. It is not because of the water, but the diversity of its residents as visa applications is based on nationality. The 11.5% of the population holding water nationality benefits from having the best passport in the world, according to the Arnot Capital Global Passport Power classification, with a trip without visa in 133 countries.

The dark clouds are not only suspended above Europe. Recent data from the National Travel and Tourism Office have revealed that the number of foreign visitors to the United States in July fell 4.9% compared to the previous year, reaching only 86.6% of the pre-countryic level despite the fact that it is one of the busiest seasons of the year. This is the last development of a one -month trend that also experienced international arrivals drop by 6.6% in June.

He follows a series of high -level refusal to the American visa applications made by all, from ambassadors to ordinary travelers. Indeed, in April, the story of an Indian became viral after posting on Reddit that his visa for two weeks of vacation to visit Disney World to Orlando was rejected after an interview that only lasted 40 seconds.

In fact, a recent report of Gulf News revealed that India is one of the ten Asian First Nations with the highest rejection rates for visas to other American countries of the first ten include Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and China which represent 74.3% of the population of the United Arab Emirates.

Almost half of the American visa applications made from Bangladesh are rejected by fixing a high barrier so that its residents visit the theme of the United States of Disney. The Bangladais represent 7.38% of the population of water which clearly illustrates the unexploited potential of Disneyland Abu Dhabi. The more people visit the park, the more money flows in its leisure sector. While Mohamed Al Zaabi, the pioneering boss of the operator of the theme park of Abu Dhabi Miral, explained to this author in 2023, this strategy “concerns the diversification of the economy of Abu Dhabi”.

Miral does not stop at Disney because he recognizes that there are other parks in Orlando that the inhabitants would like to visit. Seaworld is one and Miral checked this in 2023 when he opened the most advanced outpost in the Navy Life Park.

Harry Potter is another. The attractions of the boy’s assistant are in the Universal Studios parks, but soon Miral will be the only other operator with them when they open in Abu Dhabi, as this report recently explained.

Abu Dhabi has even recently started an exhibition of accessories from Potter films which resembles a reduced version of the popular tour behind the backstage in London. It is not the size of the tour, but it is enough to satisfy the inhabitants while waiting for the attractions of the Potter theme park.

On the other hand, when Disneyland, Abu Dhabi, opens its doors, it could be the largest park in the mouse as this report revealed. It is expected of what it is home to the star of Star Wars Galaxy, giving Abu Dhabi another draw for Orlando. The park may be years of opening, but the strength is already strong in Abu Dhabi.