DUBAI: Dubai is banking on next month’s high profile meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to boost its economy and place it firmly on the top rung of the global hospitality map.

But in a country where public protests are rare and media must exercise a strict form of self-censorship, organizers warned that action would be taken against “anti-social behaviour.”

“In the short term, the tourism sector, namely hotels, restaurants and transportation, will see an instantaneous impact” from the 58th annual joint meeting of the board of governors of the World Bank and IMF, said Ibrahim Belsaleh, general coordinator for Dubai 2003.

Dubai 2003, which will mark the first time the World Bank and IMF have held their annual meetings in the Arab world, will reap an instant $45 million cash bonanza for the hospitality sector, Belsaleh said.

The boost will come mainly through the direct spending impact of the influx of visitors, with more than 10,000 hotel rooms in the city booked for the September 23-24 event by the organizing committee.

“This huge cash injection will have a spill-over effect across economic sectors, which will be very positive for business for all emirates in the United Arab Emirates,” Belsaleh said.

“The long-term benefits will far outweigh the one billion dirhams ($272 million) that have been invested by the governments of the UAE and Dubai” to host the meeting, Belsaleh added.

Another long-term aim for image-conscious Dubai, which attracts five million tourists a year for a population of one million people, includes posting itself on the global radar as a leading destination for international events.

With oil resources running out, Dubai has launched a multi-billion-dollar drive in a bid to establish itself as the Gulf’s leisure and business hub, and Belsaleh sees Dubai 2003 as the perfect way of pushing the emirate out onto the world stage.

“Given recent international events, which have had a direct and negative impact on our region as a whole, the Dubai 2003 project will bring the misconceptions about the region into its proper light and illuminate the many investment opportunities that exist in the region,” he said.

Tourism and business in Dubai and the region as a whole took a nosedive after the September 11 attacks on the United States, the US-led war on Afghanistan and more recently on Iraq, the looming terror threat and associated travel advisories from western embassies.

Of the $272 million invested in preparing for Dubai 2003, the government has proceeded at breakneck pace to wrap construction up.

A convention centre with a total floor area of 8,100 sq metres and a hall that can sit 4,250 people has been completed in less than two years, while hotels have sprung up and the road network around the centre has been upgraded.

Belsaleh said that “peaceful and law-abiding protests” will be permitted during the meeting. “We welcome the expression of differing views in a constructive and non-violent manner.”

But “relevant action will be taken by the police against any individual or organisation that commits offences against the laws of the UAE or undertakes anti-social behaviour or violence against property or individuals.”

Belsaleh hinted that the emphasis would be on welcoming accredited officials of “civil society organizations” while cracking down on protestors viewed as anti-globalization militants, although this may be hampered by the fact that 33 nationalities do not need visas on arrival at Dubai airport.—AFP