As Dubai gets ready to host the rescheduled Expo 2020, the city has been ranked among the world’s 100 greatest places to visit this year by Time magazine. The magazine says its third annual list of the World’s Greatest Places is a tribute to the people and businesses at the forefront of the travel, tourism and hospitality industries. These sectors, as the magazine puts it, have been affected the most by recent challenges that have transformed our world.

The spread of the pandemic last year forced the suspension of international travel across the world, which choked the revenue streams of players in the travel and tourism sectors. Time says its 2021 list of destinations recognises players in those industries who, amid extraordinary circumstances, found ways to adapt, build and innovate. “It shines a light on ingenuity, creativity, revitalisation and re-openings in destinations across the world,” the magazine says.

Dubai, a global centre of tourism, trade and business, is the world’s fourth most visited destination (pre-pandemic data). It boasts of the world’s busiest international airport for international passengers, and its flagship carrier Emirates flies about 60 million passengers a year, with a bulk of those passengers transiting through its Dubai hub.

Its ranking among Time’s World’s Greatest Places is a tribute to the tireless efforts of Dubai’s government and frontline workers that have worked round the clock to make the city one of the first in the world to reopen for business while ensuring that its residents and visitors stay safe.

“After a year’s delay because of the pandemic, Expo 2020, a multibillion-dollar six-month fair expected to draw 25 million visits, will make its long-awaited debut in Dubai this October. Almost 200 pavilions created by countries around the world will showcase their respective cultures and achievements. Italy’s exhibition, for example, will feature a 3-D-printed replica of Michelangelo’s David, and Singapore will emphasise the country’s commitment to sustainability with lush indoor hanging gardens,” said Time in its accompanying report in its edition dated July 20, 2021.

“To compile this list,” Time said it “solicited nominations of places ­– including countries, regions, cities and towns – from our international network of correspondents and contributors, with an eye toward those offering new and exciting experiences.”

Time highlighted several of Dubai’s new and unique attractions, including its “otherworldly Museum of the Future, an exhibition space housed within a ringlike steel edifice aglow with Arabic calligraphy.” Among the new exciting experiences that the city has to offer, the magazine listed Ain Dubai and new rides at its Motiongate theme park.

“Thrill-seekers will love Ain Dubai, the world’s tallest Ferris wheel, and the new John Wick rollercoaster at the Hollywood-inspired theme park Motiongate Dubai. New luxury hotels like SLS Dubai, which boasts infinity pools on the top of the 75-story tower, and St. Regis Dubai, the Palm – connected from the man-made island it is located on to the city’s sights via its own monorail station – provide a break from the action. And the 795-room Atlantis, The Royal will open later this year, with restaurants from celebrity chefs Ariana Bundy and José Andrés,” the magazine concluded.

Dubai was the only Gulf destination on the list even as three other Arab destinations – Cairo (Egypt), Marrakech (Morocco) and Wadi Dana (Jordan) – were featured. Dubai shut down its airspace for the time ever last year but has kept its borders open since reopening in July 2020. Visitor numbers have declined in line with the restrictions in source countries but Dubai has seen a healthy turnaround in both visitors and hotel occupancy.

Dubai, the celebrity of cities

In August 2021, the city launched a new global marketing campaign starring Jessica Alba and Zac Efron, highlighting Dubai’s diverse destination offerings as it continues to drive global travel recovery and growth. The campaign, titled Dubai Presents, is filmed by Director’s Guild award-winning director Craig Gillespie of the recent Cruella movie fame. It takes a unique perspective to global destination advertising, using a highly stylised movie trailer approach to create engaging content, backdropped by some of Dubai’s most iconic landmarks and unique hidden locations.

The city’s flagship carrier Emirates too made waves on social media with an exceptional marketing stunt to mark the UAE’s removal from the UK’s red list for travel. Its latest ad featured a ‘member’ of the airline’s cabin crew on the tip of the Burj Khalifa. Nicole Smith-Ludvik, a skydiving instructor and stuntwoman, dressed in the full uniform of an Emirates cabin crew, stands tall on the tip of the Burj Khalifa at 828 metres above the ground.

The 30-second clip opens with a close up of the cabin crew holding up message boards in a nod to the famous scene in the 2003 cult hit “Love Actually”. As the camera pans out, audiences soon find that the crew, with her iconic red Emirates hat and uniform, is actually standing at the very top of the Burj Khalifa, giving audiences a panoramic view of Dubai’s skyline. The ad went viral on social media with millions of views across various platforms. Emirates said that the ad will be adapted for several markets across the Emirates network, incorporating relevant messages for different audiences. The first TV campaign will run in the UK.