(As published in Tempo magazine, December 2011) By Ian Mason
Strewth! If you were a visitor to Australia, you’d be dining with a dingo, cooking with a kangaroo and waltzing with a wombat. But in Abu Dhabi, Emirati cultural experiences don’t seem to extend much further than the magnificent Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
Sure, there is the Heritage Village, but culture is about interpretation, and the Heritage Village could do it so much better.
And don’t start me on the desert safaris. Belly dancers, shisha…not really Emirati culture, is it?
If you surveyed 100 people arriving on the next Etihad flight, I reckon 79 of them (ok, so we guessed) would be visiting for a cultural experience.
Culture is a powerful attractant for visitors. People travel because they want to experience a different lifestyle to their own, broaden their cultural awareness and show off their newly-found knowledge to their friends back home.
But experiencing traditional Emirati culture in Abu Dhabi is often harder than applying for residency.
The tourism industry in Abu Dhabi – indeed the whole UAE – is crying out for Emirati cultural experiences. It is not as though the possibilities are short either.
How’s this for an example. A foodies tour that visits the fruit and vegetable market, allows visitors to cook a traditional Emirati meal and sample hospitality in a majlis. Imagine that in the skilled hands of an Emirati guide.
Or perhaps an arts tour featuring paintings, handicrafts and calligraphy. A nature tour visiting the Falcon Hospital and Saluki Centre. A shopping tour to the souks to try on an abaya. A sail on a dhow. A basic Arabic language lesson.
This is Emirati culture, the thing that 79% of visitors (according to the Mason method of research) want to experience in Abu Dhabi.
The UAE needs Emiratis to proudly interpret and preserve their own culture. It demands entrepreneurs with the energy, vision and passion to showcase these cultural experiences.
The Director of Strategy and Policy at Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority says so. More importantly, visitors say so.
The UAE must highlight its grassroots culture – not just the broadscope cultural precinct being built on Saadiyat Island – and it is Emirati entrepreneurs who must drive it. They need to bring their Bedouin knowledge, their life experiences, their family heritage to the 2.3 million hotel guests expected to pile into the country by the end of 2012.
And help is freely available. The Khalifa Fund aids visionary Emiratis with financial support while organisations such as Tamakkan offer an amazing mentoring and training base.
I’m a Westerner. I can’t do it. It would look plain stupid and incredibly non-credible.
It needs the skilled, experienced hands of an Emirati – an Emirati that is investing in their own business to bring local culture to the world.
So next time you visit Australia and see a koala doing karaoke, don’t laugh. You can be sure he’s doing it for the culture of his country.
________________________________________________________________________________
Ian Mason is a Tamakkan trainer and coaches on marketing, hospitality and media. Tamakkan offers a range of basic business workshops for entrepreneurs, including selling skills, presentation skills, developing marketing plans, customer service and many more. Contact Camille at Brand Moxie on (02) 4918624 or emailcamille@brandmoxie.com for a workshop schedule.
