Dubai — Mubasher: The growing number of tourists flocking to Dubai have propelled a group the world's largest watchmakers to boost their presence in the wealthy GCC emirate.
Montegrappa is planning to foray into Dubai, joining a line of luxury watchmakers, which are at pains to attract a growing number of tourists.
The Swiss watchmaker is among a slew of luxury watchmakers such as Mido, Breitling, Rado, and Rolex, which have either opened new stores in Dubai or made a new presence in the emirate this year.
Dubai’s growing appeal with luxury watchmakers is mainly ascribed to tourist growth.
The emirate is on pace to exceed over 16 million visitors in 2018, with 4.7 million tourists in the first quarter of the year.
Payments provider Mastercard said in a research note that Dubai’s tourist numbers grew 10.9% year-on-year in 2018, registering the world's largest growth besides Bangkok.
The GCC emirate is looking to attract 20 million visitors by 2020. A major portion of those visitors will come from China, the fastest growing source market for Dubai’s visitors, travellers who are an important consideration for luxury watchmakers, according to Arabian Business.
On a visit to Dubai in March, Breitling CEO Georges Kern said that the emirate’s rising appeal with Chinese tourists was the big reason behind his decision to boost the company’s presence in the emirate.
Dubai is Breitling’s third biggest market for sales globally after the US and Europe.
“We sell a bit less to tourists because we’re a little weaker in China,” Kern told Bloomberg News, adding that “but tourist inflow from China is enormous… and that’s a business we need to gain.”
In addition to Dubai’s growing population, “you have wealth in the region, and you have investments, so it’s one of the biggest, and fastest growing regions in the world,” he said.
In the same vein, the Swiss Watch Industry Federation said that Swiss watch movements to the UAE registered as much as $547 million in sales in the first six months of 2018, marking the 11th biggest destination for Swiss watch sales in the world over the period.
The value of watch sales at auctions in Dubai is also on the rise. In March, Christie’s in Dubai auctioned 191 watches for $7.15 million, comprising an 18-carat gold Patek Philippe 1518 commissioned by King Farouk of Egypt in 1945.
The mounting interest in swiss watches is also propelling Rolex, the world’s most popular watchbrand, to open its largest boutique in Dubai.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker’s new outlet at Dubai Mall is designed to replicate aspects of the brand’s design language that are constant across its timepieces.
