Page 98 - Aamir Rehman - Dubai & Co Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States-McGraw-Hill (2007)

82 Dubai & Co.

and GCC nationals. Added security measures, involving additional
scrutiny, long delays, and the risk of denied entry (for which no rea-
son need be given), have made GCC nationals less interested in
coming to the United States except when absolutely necessary. The
economic impact of this phenomenon is not small—in 2002, for
example, a leading hospital in the northeastern United States con-
tacted me to request my help in reversing a severe decline in its
private patient population due to decreased willingness by patients
and their families from GCC countries to bother with flying to
America. Lebanon, however, has remained open and welcoming
and is therefore attracting tourists who otherwise might vacation in
Florida or London. Lebanese and international investors are pour-
ing capital into the tourism sector and building more luxury hotels
and resorts to accommodate demand. While the 2006 war between
Israel and Hezbollah brought tourism to a standstill, the longer-
term trend is toward increased travel between the Gulf and
Lebanon.
Egypt is another key MENA destination for GCC travelers.
Summer travelers pack Cairo’s streets and markets—especially at
night. During one stretch, while I was working with a multinational
client in Egypt in the summer of 2005, it took us much longer to
walk or drive across the Nile bridge to our hotel at 11 p.m. or mid-
night than it did at 8 in the morning—the city was bustling and vis-
itors were out and about. By 4 a.m., Cairo was quiet again. Cairene
shopkeepers report that sales in July and August can be equivalent
35
to the rest of the year’s revenues combined, due largely to spend-
ing by Gulf visitors with high disposable incomes and upscale
tastes who are escaping their home countries’ summer heat.
Observers also note that Gulf travelers often stay in Cairo more
than European tourists do; the latter tend to frequent Red Sea
resorts.
Professional linkages between the GCC and MENA regions
are related largely to the Gulf’s need for outside talent. The GCC
countries have become, without question, the most attractive place
to work for Arab talent—in both professional and working-class
roles. Ferries crossing the Red Sea, for example, every day transport
tens of thousands of Egyptian laborers who work in Saudi Arabia
36
or in other GCC states. Much like Mexican migrant workers in the
United States, these Arab workers leave less-developed home