Dubai Safari Park – An ambitious futuristic project where Dubai meets Africa!

Four words that rightly describe Dubai – optimism, thrill, openness towards visitors worldwide and outstanding connectivity make this ‘powerhouse city’ a hotspot for tourists across the globe! This ‘cosmopolitan oasis’ and home to the largest dancing fountain, natural flower garden and artificial island of the world is spread along both the banks of the creek and has secured an envious position among ‘Travelers Choice Destinations 2016’, a list published by TripAdvisor nominating top 25 places in the world wherein the city ranked 13th.

Being the commercial capital of the UAE, Dubai is soon to add another feather to its list of world-class attractions! By unleashing Dubai Safari Park in early 2017, this dynamic city will seize the global spotlight once again! Being one of the major industries in Dubai, tourism contributes more than 20 percent to its economy. Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing or DTCM Dubai is all geared up to represent this magnificent city as one of the sought-after destinations for leisure vacationers globally.

 This video below will provide you with a nice glimpse of this forthcoming project:

Dubai Safari Park – A true conservation ground rightly justifying ethical treatments of animals

Few attractions have already been opened to the public and few are yet to be. Among this list of attractions lined up, Dubai Safari Park deserves a special mention. It’s a long awaited project with a spectacle to witness! The safari park is not a typical zoo. Spread across 400 hectares of land, this fantastic wildlife center is more about education and conservation making it a unique approach! To quote Tim Husband, the technical director of the park, “It will be a jewel in the Dubai crown and it will show the rest of the world that there are people here who care about wildlife’’. With a capacity to shelter more than 5000 animals and endangered species, Dubai Safari Park is a must see attraction close to its final stage and will be opened to public early 2017.

What makes it unique?

Besides enjoying an exciting day out, this Dhs150 million safari park project is mainly about ethical conservation of wildlife and educating the visitors about their protection. To reiterate the technical director, “they will not be doing tricks or juggling, they will be behaving naturally’’.  Animals have been preserved in surroundings which are hundred percent natural. Most of the inhabitants are either rescued or donated from some other zoo in the world. As the director repeats, “The whole idea is to save these animals from any more hardship and allow them to live out their lives in a safe environment where they no longer need to be treated as beasts of burden. The animals are [ones] that cannot be returned to the wild for one reason or another’’.

Animals have been transported from different countries well in advance so that they can accommodate with each other as well as adjust with the fearsome summer heat of Dubai. Each animal picked for this park has the right genetics so that they can give birth to quality offspring. Husband says “our curators will make sure that we only breed the best with the best’’.

Personal guide for every traveler is a unique aspect of this park. Travelers won’t find any elephant ride or such things which are quite common in the majority of national parks and sanctuaries across the world as the park shuns any kind of degrading behavior towards animals.

Also, the caretakers and veterinary professionals recruited here were picked after stringent screening as good professional track record was a prerequisite for the park officials to make sure that welfare of the collection are in safe hands. Staffs that have been taken in will undergo rigorous training to execute the right skills for the job.

Major attractions of the park

The park lies just opposite to the Dragon Mart, the largest China market in this bustling microcosm. Identical to Kruger National Park, South Africa, this safari park showcases replicas of animals and thatched terraces with artistic touch!

Every visitor in this park gets a chance to learn about animals, their plight and other environmental concerns that make this park unique from others where animals are showcased as a mere crowd puller. As Mr. Husband says that if any reserve is sheltering white tigers, then they should explain and educate the difficulties of this animal to the visitors. Also, the color white is the result of inbreeding caused by humans which in return is causing many problems to this majestic animal.

The park is divided into Arabic, African and Safari villages. Each section has its exclusive design featuring an enviable ensemble of wild creatures and exotic floras.

In addition, a thousand-seater theater, interactive garden for kids, air-conditioned rocks to pacify inhabitants and tourists and an energy production garden are the added features of this superb safari park!

Moreover, the park ensures the usage of solar energy and hybrid operational system for water disposal and recycling facilities.

The park has also highlighted sustainable approach by introducing ‘sustainable thamnochortus insignis’. Made of cape reed, this grass-like species which are endemic to South Africa have been used in plenty in preparing the ceilings of the hippo viewing section, giraffe feeding, elephant interaction and watch towers of the park.

The horticultural wing is equally exciting as the park displays more than 100 different types of floras and vegetation. Savannah and rainforest are the main attractions where tourists can enjoy jeep safaris.

Few exceptional facilities in the pipeline that makes this park one-of-a-kind…

• The park plans to open a striking hotel complex inside the premises by 2020
• The conservation center in the coming days aims to organize a comprehensive breeding program that’ll enable the authorities to free animals to the wildlife every year
• The park authorities are also looking forward to different schools and universities to use their top-notch laboratories and facilities in developing brilliant learning environment

Besides this, Dubai has other exciting new attractions like Dubai eye, Bollywood Park Dubai, Al Thuraya Astronomy Centre, IMG Worlds of Adventure (world’s largest theme park), Dubai Opera House, Nikki Beach and others, making Dubai a place where travelers will be spoilt for choice!

To add more to it, for business travelers, this advanced cityscape standing on the Arabian Desert is not lagging behind either. It’s likely to open its all new Convention Center for events and business purposes. This colossal structure will be opened to the public in 2018. It has two hotels, a huge impressive hall that can house over 10,000 delegates with many restaurants and shops encircling the edifice. To quote Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality, “It will also be an iconic landmark in Dubai because of its architecture”. 2015 witnessed a 20 % increase in business travel while Dubai Business Events or DBE is all set to raise this scale to 3 to 4 million visitors and MICE guests by 2020.

So, if you’re planning to visit this dynamic city anytime soon in the upcoming winter, never miss out these new attractions along with its sensational shorelines, as Dubai has been recently voted world’s best shoreline by the Royal Caribbean International. The UAE is all set to cement its position as one of the distinguished tourism havens for travelers across the world! What are you waiting for? Plan your next trip to this ‘glorious desert city’ that’ll never get you bored, I promise!!