The standard of services and luxury that exists in Dubai does not exist elsewhere. But if you take the same product in Cairo, in Beirut, in Muscat, or in Abu Dhabi, Dubai is at the same level. Now with regards to rates, obviously when there is less demand, rates are going to come down.

How much are your plans dependent on the projected tourist numbers? Are you considering a backup plan for a situation in which those numbers don’t turn up?

We are adjusting our plans. When we did the projections for 2009, we did them in July and August 2008. At that time there was no crisis. So we based our projections on numbers that we had from 2007 and 2008. But once the crisis started we adjusted our numbers, and now every month we are adjusting our projections.

Do those adjustments happen quarter to quarter or is there a more long-term view?

We are doing it monthly now, because the changes are unexpected. This is a crisis [the like of which] we have never seen before. Nobody has got experience in crisis management of this magnitude and nature. We all went through periods of slowdown, boom, slowdown and so on, but it was never so bad.

But is the message sinking in? Is the industry prepared to face the crisis?

The industry is not prepared today, but it will be prepared within the next few months. And whoever is not prepared is going to go out of business. So we are all on a learning curve. The faster you react and find solutions, the better placed you will be. It is a race and we are all going to reach the end, but who is going to be first?

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