Set in the Austrian Alps, the resort town of Zell Am See could have been plucked from The Sound of Music. Against a backdrop of snow-capped mountains, picturesque traditional buildings lead down to the clear blue waters of Lake Zell.
In winter it attracts skiers from all over the world. In summer, bringing in the visitors needs a different approach. And that’s when, more than 20 years ago, the Zell Am See tourist board hit upon a brilliant idea.
Placing adverts in GCC countries, from Kuwait to Oman, the region soon began attracting Arab visitors in their tens of thousands, anxious to escape the punishing heat of an Arabian Gulf summer for the cool of the Alps.
Rainy attraction
The campaign succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. Even cloudy weather and rain was an additional attraction. In 2006, the head of the local tourist board, Hans Wallner, speculated that “for Arab tourists, I guess that water in various kinds – frozen as snow at the Kitzsteinhorn glacier and the high-quality water in Lake Zell are the main attractions”.
By then, Arab visitors to the area represented about 10 per cent of the total − about 80,000 tourists. Two years later, it was 15 per cent and by 2013, over a third. They also spent, on average, €490 a day, compared with €160 a day by European tourists.
Before the pandemic hit in 2020, it was estimated around 350,000 visitors from GCC countries were visiting Zell Am See during July and August. Post-covid anecdotal evidence suggests the area is as busy as ever.
Arab Muslim visitors enjoy walking trails, boat trips and the chance to experience real snow by taking the mountain lifts, and local businesses have been quick to respond to their needs. Hotels cleared out the mini bar to offer alcohol-free rooms, while restaurants such as Ali Baba, Shiraz and Al Khalij offer Arab menus that are halal.
Several shops also began offering products that appealed directly to Arab tastes. The Aydin Supermarket sells sweet treats like dates, halva and mamoul, along with spices, hummus and “a wide selection of halal food”. More than a dozen stores and grocers in the town and in neighbouring Kaprun now cater for tourists from the Middle East.
'Tourism apartheid'
Success also brings problems, though. Far-right political movements began to stir again in Austria, prompted in part by refugees from Iraq and Syria’s civil wars. There were mutterings that Zell Am See was losing its Austrian character amid the huge number of Arab visitors.
In 2014, the regional authorities, including the police and tourist board, issued a well-intentioned but heavy-handed booklet intended to help Middle East tourists better integrate with Austrian culture. Visitors were asked not eat meals on the floor, not haggle in shops and make sure their children wore car seatbelts.
Most controversial it attempted to address women’s clothing, saying: “ In our culture, we are accustomed to looking into the smiling face of the person opposite us in order to gain a first impression and build mutual trust.
"It would be a great pleasure for us if you could join us in celebrating the uniquely joyful Austrian mentality and show your colourful scarves and dress and, in this way, show us your smile.”
Described by one newspaper as “tourism apartheid”, it was withdrawn after only a few weeks, with officials admitting "unfortunately, certain passages led to misunderstandings”.
More seriously, in 2017, the country passed a law banning full face coverings such as the burqa and niqab in public places. Aimed at conservative Muslim women, the law could not single them out specifically to avoid discrimination.
Enforcement soon descended into chaos. Fines or warnings were issued to costumed mascots including a man dressed as shark promoting an electronics store, skiers and cyclists with scarves wrapped around their faces as protection against pollution.
For Zell Am See and its Arab visitors the implications of the new law were potentially more serious. Fortunately for all, it appears the resort is quietly ignoring the rules; pragmatism outweighing politics.
As Monika Oberschneider, who works in a sports shop renting snow boots to ill-prepared Gulf visitors, told an Austrian TV station last year: “Every guest who comes pays our wages.”
Global institutions: BlackRock and KKR
US-based BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with $5.98 trillion of assets under management as of the end of last year. The New York firm run by Larry Fink provides investment management services to institutional clients and retail investors including governments, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, banks and charitable foundations around the world, through a variety of investment vehicles.
KKR & Co, or Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is a global private equity and investment firm with around $195 billion of assets as of the end of last year. The New York-based firm, founded by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, invests in multiple alternative asset classes through direct or fund-to-fund investments with a particular focus on infrastructure, technology, healthcare, real estate and energy.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history
Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.
Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.
Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
Where to apply
Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020.
Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.
The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020.
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MATCH DETAILS
Manchester United 3
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Partizan Belgrade 0
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
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