Among travelers, Ajman is well-known for the beach hotel, Ajman Kempinski, but the journey does not stop here. Despite being the smallest of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, “Ajman is emerging as one of the big players in the real estate sector”, Imad Dana, CEO of Al Zorah, is convinced.

He is the boss of the development of the Al Zorah region, which is located on the northern coastal strip of Ajman. “Due to many projects that have been launched in the past 2 years including Al Zorah, which is in itself worth 220 billion Dhs. (around 16 billion dollars).

The value of the real estate sector of Ajman has already risen to US$33 billion and foreign direct investment has exceeded the other emirates by 300 percent.

The Al Zorah development will be a 12 kilometers squared self-contained city with housing, offices, retail, schools, hospitals and leisure facilities as well as marinas and a number of 5-star hotel resorts completed in different phases and within a time frame of seven to 15 years. When completed, the aim is to house 200,000 residents and workers. So far, the emirate of Ajman is home to only 36,000 inhabitants, equal to the total population of the Principality of Liechtenstein.

CEO Imad Dana has his clear vision of the project: “The purpose of Al Zorah as a complete city is to have its residents work in the same place, send their kids to schools in the same location, they can enjoy the hotels and the retails. You know, go shopping without going to Dubai.

This is the main thing and Al Zorah will have a big hotel district, around six or seven 5-star resorts which will also be a magnet for tourists. So, the idea is to bring them so that they can stay in Ajman and enjoy the nice geographic features, at the same time they can go and visit Dubai.

So it is not like coming to Dubai and coming to visit Ajman, they come to Ajman and they can visit other emirates.” Such visions are too ambitious to leave to a private company alone. Ajman’s ruler HH Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of Al Zorah, keeps a close eye on the development. An international airport is also in the pipeline. Construction of Ajman International Airport is scheduled to start soon and will welcome its first passengers in 2011.

Fujairah, the easternmost emirate of the UAE with a fabulous coast on the Gulf of Oman, is already home to an international airport and, even here, figures are all on the rise.

Fujairah International Airport

Fujairah International Airport

Early results for global passenger traffic show continued growth in March 2008, fuelled by a very substantial increase of over seven percent in international traffic as compared to March 2007.

But what is the situation at Fujairah International Airport (FIA)? “In terms of growth or just aircraft movement, if we compare the latest statistics from January to April 2008 compared to 2007, we have 65 percent growth of aircraft movement”, says Dr. Khaled Al Mazroui, General Manager of FIA. Cargo accounts for 80% of traffic at Fujairah International Airport, which currently handles over 40 to 60 flights per day and around 100,000 passengers a year, largely from the Indian Subcontinent and the CIS countries.

When asked how he compares FIA with DXB (the IATA-Code for Dubai International Airport), Mr. Mazroui replies: “There is no comparison between the airports in the region. Usually I compare the six airports in the UAE to having a pizza; you have many slices, and that is the market share in the UAE.

Therefore, the development even and the growth in the Dubai airport do help and affect in a positive manner the rest of the airports in the region.” Even the landscape does not have much in common with the rest of the UAE; Fujairah is almost completely mountainous.

Le Meridien Al Aqah

The most iconic hotel is the luxury tourist resort Le Meridien Al Aqah, surrounded by mountains and located on a breathtaking beach promenade.

Although far away from the touristic centres in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the hotel welcomes truly international groups every year, as Patrick Antaki, General Manager of the Le Meridien Al Aqah, explains: “Most of our tourists come from Germany and the German-speaking countries, from Russia, from England, from the Scandinavian countries.” The awards in the hotel lobby speak for themselves. Patrick Antaki says: “We’re not trying to be cocky and say we are the

UAQ Marina

In five years time, the emirate of Umm Al Quwain wants to be as popular as the other six emirates. Literally, Umm Al Quwain means “the mother of two powers”, a reference to the seafaring tradition of this emirate. It is home to 62,000 people and ruled by the Al Mu’alla-family.

Fishing, camel racing, falconry and dhow building are still present and very popular among tourists. U. A. Q. - the abbreviation used on number plates - would hardly be part of the UAE if it did not include a huge real estate project under construction.

UAQ Marina aims to be the emirate’s first waterfront community.

According to the master plan, UAQ Marina will offer a coastline of 23 kilometres and over 2,000 acres, enhanced by marine elements. Located at the picturesque lagoon of Khor Al Beidah, UAQ Marina will offer town houses, villas, exclusive islands and town centers, and this is just another reason to decide in favour of choosing the UAE as a home for good.