Dubai is a city of fascinating contrasts. In Dubai one can see dusty traditional villages only minutes from fantastically luxurious residential districts. Rugged mountains and shifting sand dunes are only a few miles from pristine sandy beaches and lush green parks. Shoppers can savor Dubai's traditional market places or visit some of the most modern and largest indoor shopping malls in the world.

Visitors to Dubai can choose to stay in one of its many luxury hotels. Or for a more authentic Dubai experience a person can rent a beautifully furnished apartment or villa in one of Dubai's newer residential areas. Dubai apartment rentals offer the visitor more space for less money, and provide a different perspective on this unique city.

Many New Developments Underway

With the rapid pace of real estate and commercial development taking place in Dubai it has become one of the most futuristic cities in the world. The city skyline is dominated by ultra-modern office towers, hotels and skyscrapers. The Burj Al-Arab, for instance, is the world's tallest hotel. The Mall of the Emirates is the largest shopping center outside of North America, with newer even larger malls on the drawing board and under construction. Dubai has also become a serious golfing destination with several famous championship courses and one of the very few fully lit 18 hole golf courses in the world.

Many other exciting developments are also under construction in Dubai. To name just a few:

- Dubai Mall - the largest indoor mall in the world when completed.

- Burj Dubai - scheduled to be completed in 2008 - will be the tallest skyscraper in the world.

Dubai World Central to include the new Dubai World Central International Airport along with the world's largest transportation hub. The new airport and transport terminal will be ten times larger than the present Dubai International Airport facilites.

- The Dubai Waterfront project will be the largest waterfront and largest man-made development in the world. It will be a series of canals and artificial islands housing a number of commercial, residential, and resort zones.

Shopping Tourism in Dubai

By far the most popular attraction Dubai is the shopping. The malls and market places of Dubai are stocked with an incredible array of consumer goods and draw large numbers of shopping tourists from all parts of Europe and the Middle East and even as far away as Eastern Europe, India, and North America.

Dubai's most interesting shopping is to be found in the souks, located on either side of Dubai creek that runs through the city. Two of the most popular are the Spice Souk and the Gold Souk. Bargaining in traditional middle eastern style is an important part of the shopping experience in the souks.

While still vibrant and exciting, the souks are meeting stiff competition from more western style shopping. New development has meant that shiny new shopping malls and upscale boutiques can now be found throughout the city. These new stores sell virtually any consumer items you can imagine: electronics, furnishings, clothing, cars, jewellery, sporting equipment, luxury items, household goods - you name it and you can probably find it in the shopping malls of Dubai.

The Dubai International Airport also is the home of the Duty Free complex - one of the most extensive and largest duty free shopping areas in the world. New developments such as the Dubai World Central International Airport will have even larger duty free areas to draw in even more shopping tourists.

These and many more attractions make Dubai a favorite destination of tourists and business travelers from around the world. Future developments promise to make Dubai even more important as a world class business hub and a haven for tourists in search of a unique and exciting adventure.