DUBAI // Traffic jams, building work and high parking fees are putting people off visiting a popular beachside development, say business owners and residents.
Restaurants and coffee shops along The Walk, a 1.7-kilometre one-way strip at Jumeirah Beach Residences in Dubai Marina, say they are losing customers.
"I just don't come here as much," said Carlos Soto, a Spanish expatriate who was at The Walk for a business lunch. "My family and I used to come here often but have stopped coming because of the parking situation. If infrastructure gets better we will come back."
Mr Soto paid Dh5 an hour to leave his car at a new private parking lot beside the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah Resort. At weekends the price goes up to Dh10 per hour.
Dubai Properties Group, which owns JBR, said paid parking was introduced to make visiting easier, after spaces had been lost because of the construction of Al Sufouh tram.
"The decision was taken to improve the parking for visitors to The Walk at JBR and the application of this nominal fee has resulted in greater availability," said a spokesman.
The area's traffic woes were added to after Meraas Holding announced last year it was building a mall extending nearly 1km along the beach.
Restaurants owners, who have seen their beachfront view replaced by construction and traffic jams, said customers were unhappy and many stayed away.
"Most customers do not like to come to JBR now," said Mohammed Selim Mohammed, manager of El Chico Mexican restaurant.
"They tell us they can't come again because they have to pay for parking. A family with children will not come here to spend just an hour. We are losing people."
He believes one solution is to allow customers free parking.
"Restaurants could be allowed to stamp tickets so they don't have to pay for parking," said Mr Mohammed, adding he was anxious about dwindling numbers
The manager of a nearby Indian restaurant said customers numbers had fallen but he could not specify by how much.
"Our restaurant is far from the paid parking so people end up going to eat out closer," he said. "There has been a drastic fall in our numbers."
A former frequent visitor to the area, Janhar Ramakrishnan, admitted he had been put off going.
"It took me more than an hour to get out of the parking area on a Thursday evening," he said. "It is not the same as before. The purpose of developing such a place has been lost. It has become very chaotic. We don't go as often any more."
People living in JBR said they had been affected, especially on weekend evenings when the roads were heavily congested.
"It is a real nightmare for people who want to visit us," said one local, Priscilla Browne. "Our friends do not want visit us on the weekends. The traffic is constant at certain times. It starts on Wednesdays and only ends on Saturdays."
Dubai Properties has promised the situation will improve.
"There are development works taking place in JBR which will result in 1,200 underground car-parking spaces," a spokesman said. "Once the development is complete there will be far greater availability of parking.
"The Walk is very popular, particularly on weekends, and we encourage visitors to utilise public transport, including the Dubai Metro, which has stations at Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Lakes Towers.
"We work very closely with authorities to regulate the flow of traffic, especially at peak times."
Despite all of the problems with traffic and development, not everyone is deterred.
"There are inconveniences but Dubai is booming," said Neeta Kumari, who is considering moving to JBR.
"I love this place and I will continue to come, no matter what."
pkannan@thenational.ae
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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