“May you live in interesting times!” They say this amiable-sounding invocation is in fact a Chinese curse, the implication being that the quiet life is preferable.
Alas, we certainly do live in interesting times, with at least half the region in serious disarray.
For hoteliers, the Arab Spring has cast serious doubts over Egypt, Bahrain and most of the Maghreb and the Levant countries as safe destinations in which to risk a business trip or a vacation.
Iraq is mostly still very dodgy, with the arguable exception of Erbil, while Kuwait’s economic woes continue to weigh upon it, with fresh rumblings of political dissent. On the positive side, Oman, which managed to avoid serious unrest, continues to grow at its traditional, gentlemanly pace – slow and steady, no fireworks. The same could generally be said of the northern Emirates.