That's one small step for man, one giant leap for...Dubai?
There's plenty to see in Dubai. Visitors to the city in the United Arab Emirates can take in such architectural wonders as Jumeirah Beach Hotel, the Cayan Tower and the Burj Khalifa, which, at 2,717 feet, is the tallest building on earth.
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However, Michael Henderson, a Canadian entrepreneur, wants even more. He wants the moon.
Henderson is looking to build a 900-foot replica of earth's only satellite atop 100-foot building.
Red-Hot Real Estate Market
The $5 billion real estate project, dubbed MOON, includes a destination resort inside the spherical structure, complete with a 4,000-room hotel, an arena capable of hosting 10,000 people and a “lunar colony” that would give guests the sensation of actually walking on the moon.
The MOON would sit on a pedestal-like circular building beneath it and would glow at night.
"We have the biggest ‘brand’ in the world,” Henderson told The Associated Press, alluding that the moon itself — the heavenly body — was his brand. “Eight billion people know our brand, and we haven’t even started yet.”
Dubai has a red-hot real estate market, AP noted, which was fueled by the wealthy who fled restrictions imposed in their home countries during the coronavirus pandemic and Russians seeking refuge amid Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
The sheikdom was rocked by the 2009 financial crisis that forced Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, to provide Dubai with a $20 billion bailout.
However, Dubai largely has turned around.
Rents on average across Dubai are up 26.9% year-on-year, even with anti-price-gouging protections. Dubai saw 86,849 residential sales last year, beating a previous record of 80,831 from 2009.
Tourists Are Returning
And tourists are coming back.
Dubai had a total of 14.36 million international visitors in 2022, up 97% from the previous year, according to the department of economy and tourism.
And the first quarter was pretty good too, as Dubai welcomed 4.67 million international overnight visitors, up 17% from the year ago period and the city’s best first-quarter performance since the pandemic
The MOON project also includes space for a possible casino as well. Gambling remains illegal in the UAE, a federation of seven hereditarily ruled sheikdoms on the Arabian Peninsula.
However, major brands like Caesar’s Palace already exist or hope to build in Dubai.
Last month, Wynn Resorts (WYNN) unveiled renderings and the name of its planned casino resort in the United Arab Emirates, which one analyst described as “one of the most exciting growth prospects in the gaming industry globally.”
The resort, called Wynn Al Marjan Island, will be located on 115 acres on the Al Marjan Island, made up of four islands, in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.
