An underwater tourism company has designed a revolutionary five-acre attraction that resembles an ancient lost city.
Los Angeles-based Dynamic Reef developer, Reef Worlds — whose team has designed for blockbuster Hollywood movies, including Pirates of the Caribbean — are designing the world’s largest sustainable underwater tourism site in Dubai and others across the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The new site, named Pearl of Dubai, will be accessible to scuba divers and snorkelers.
It's not all about tourism, however — it's hoped that this new artificial reef, located in the shallow waters of The New World islands, will provide a unique way of creating regional habitat underwater in places where the environment is degraded or under-performing.
According to a recent report in Abu Dhabi, "coral content in Arabian Gulf reefs has declined by up to 50 per cent, posing a threat to fish stocks and marine habitats."
Once opened, the Pearl of Dubai will become a focus for international dive/snorkel tourism and habitat creation in the region. It is estimated that globally resorts currently own over 200,000 square miles of unused or underused waterfront space and Reef Worlds is enhancing those spaces in a unique fashion.
"The UAE has a pressing tourism problem that we address," says Dave Taylor, director of development for Reef Worlds. "When one considers Dubai and the region, scuba diving and underwater exploration is not on the top ten list, and yet it is almost everywhere else in the world."
The company has plans to expand with waterfront resort developers from Dubai to the Philippines in places where tourism and regional habitat could use an immediate boost.
"The Reef Worlds brand is all about sustainability and the creation of new habitat while at the same time adding instant tourism revenue and excitement to waterfront resorts," said Taylor.
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