DELMA ISLAND // Residents of Delma Island hope that major investments in the tourism industry can preserve its unique culture while creating enough jobs to stop young people from leaving. The Tourism Development and Investment Company's has ambitious plans for the tiny isle, which is 30km off the coast of the capital, including new hotels and restaurants, a golf course and redevelopment of the marina.
The TDIC hopes to stem the flow of young people and return prosperity to Delma, said Lee Tabler, its chief executive. "We anticipate improving the marina for leisure boating and recreational boating," he said. "Today there isn't recreational boating there. It's comprised of mostly indigenous fishing boats." Delma Island was once the source of much of the region's wealth as the centre of the pearl trade.
Yet almost one-fifth of Delma's residents have left, driven by a lack of work and better opportunities in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Just 4,800 residents remain on the small volcanic island, which houses a few hundred villas, one mall and one of the oldest mosques in the country. There are only two places to stay - both called the Delma Motel - and no transportation to and from accommodation and the tiny airport.
The curator at the only attraction, a museum showcasing artefacts from the pearling era, said about 100 people visited every month, mostly Emirati students on school day trips. A school, designed to train young people for jobs to cope with the expected influx of visitors, opened two months ago. The island's residents said the pending construction is desperately needed, but they worry about how tourism will change their way of life.
"All people are welcome to the island but they have to respect our culture," said Abdullah Ragab. Many people want more tourists to visit, and the hotel work they would bring, said Mr Ragab, but not necessarily in the model of Dubai. "Dubai has completely changed," he said. "Mostly because of business, but also because of tourism." The key to positive tourism development in rural communities is to engage the local population, said Martin Radley, the associate director for the hotels and leisure division of Arup, a consulting firm.
"The trick is to nestle the development into the fabric of the island, and to keep beaches open and available to the public," he said. "You can't dominate the area with your resort." Mr Radley suggested that Delma remain an exclusive, high-end destination. "Sustainable tourism has become one of the keywords at the moment," he said. The trend in tourism is to work with native communities, for example hiring them to provide fresh, local food to hotels.
Mr Tabler stressed the TDIC is working with residents to develop the island. "We're much more careful with Delma Island, with what our development strategy will be there, because of the permanent population, and because it has been a historic centre with a lot of settlements, which are now archaeological destinations." So far, there has been little collaboration between the local and federal governments, claimed Sheikha Abdullah al Mohairbi, the director of services with the island's municipal government. She was also sceptical about plans to bring visitors to the island.
"How many people visit now? ... There is no tourism. They only come here to work." Ms Mohairbi hoped Delma would avoid mimicking the development patterns seen in Abu Dhabi and Dubai by marketing itself as a place to relax and get away from the stresses of the city. Most people support tourism development on the island, but believe more needs to happen before it can support a significant number of visitors, said Ahmed Ghanim al Mazrouei, the manager of Tamm, a small government-services centre in Delma Mall.
"People come for the first time and see the island but there are no hotels, and no services in the hotels," he said. "They are disappointed and never come back." For now, with little to root them to the place, many of Mr Mazrouei's friends have left the island to find work. Nor can Mr Ragab keep his sons from heading to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. "There have to be changes," he said. jgerson@thenational.ae
