Dubai-based entrepreneur Ashish Bhandari offers a closer look at the city’s place as a must-see tourist destination.
Ashish Bhandari, Dubai-based entrepreneur with business interests in numerous sectors, including private aviation. He originally made a name for himself in the exclusive world of private banking. Now a long-standing resident of Dubai, Bhandari presents a first-hand look at the incredible growth of tourism in the city, especially in recent years.
“In 2019, over 16.5 million tourists visited Dubai,” Ashish Bhandari reveals, speaking from his home in the breathtaking United Arab Emirates city, famed for its skyscraper-filled skyline.
Tourism in Dubai first took off in the 1990s, Bhandari reports. Since then, interest in travel to the city has grown exponentially, he says. Year on year, between 2014 and 2018, visits to Dubai increased at an annual rate of up to 13 percent, the expert points out.
This growth comes as tourists increasingly seek to enjoy the high-end luxury shopping, incredible architecture, lively nightlife, and more on offer in Dubai. “Others visit especially for Atlantis, a resort just offshore on what’s known as The Palm,” Bhandari reveals.
Dubai’s The Palm is a unique group of artificial islands. The archipelago was created using revolutionary land reclamation techniques. “Home to exclusive private residences and many hotels, it extends out, fan-like, into the Persian Gulf,” adds Bhandari.
Former banker Ashish Bhandari (Dubai) has now lived in Dubai for a number of years. Since leaving the world of banking behind in 2017 to establish his own endeavors, Bhandari has entered a variety of new arenas. Particularly pertinent to Bhandari’s interest in the city’s tourism industry is the businessman’s foray into the private jet chartering sector.
The entrepreneur has also established three finance-focused operations in his native India. Here, Bhandari is able to borrow from his years of wealth management, investment advisory, and estate planning experience. Across his ventures, he works with clients and others from both the United Arab Emirates and India, as well as from elsewhere around the world.
Dubai’s Ashish Bhandari looks toward post-coronavirus future of tourism in the city
Last year, visits to Dubai plummeted amid regulations put in place to slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. However, with global restrictions now lifting, the city hopes to welcome around 6 million tourists this year.
“A hopeful start to 2021 may yet see this number increase significantly before the end of December,” suggests Ashish Bhandari, “particularly with Dubai being a traditionally popular vacation spot over the New Year.”
While any figure is still likely to represent considerably less than half the number of visitors welcomed just two years prior, the city’s official tourism board is understood to remain extremely hopeful moving forward – particularly for 2022. As the world longs to return to normality, overseas vacations are toward the top of many people’s list of plans for the next 12 months.
With this in mind, there’s no reason to suggest that 2022 couldn’t come to represent a record year for tourism in Dubai, Ashish Bhandari says. “If not next year, it’s highly likely that 2023 will instead, I believe, prove to be a record-breaker for the city’s tourism industry,” adds the Dubai-based businessman, wrapping up.