What a difference a year makes

It’s a cliché, but what a difference a year makes.

This time last year, I’d just finished writing up news from the launch of the Nakheel Tower, attended by Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and everyone was about to be stunned by the launch of Jumeira Gardens. Meanwhile, while we were all aware of what was happening in the US economy at the time, most of the developers I spoke to seemed pretty confident that this region wouldn’t be affected and even more good times were just around the corner.

Again, what a difference a year makes.

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The last eight months have been a time of waiting. The mantra used to be “Let’s see how things are in September after the summer slowdown.” Then it was “Let’s see how things are after Ramadan.” Now it’s “Let’s see how things are after Cityscape.”

Forgive me if I expect to hear a lot of “Let’s see how things are at the start of next year” by the end of this week.

The problem is that a lot of this waiting seems to be in the hope that there will be some dramatic change in the economy, some exceptional turning point. I’m no economist, but I really don’t think this is likely – because that’s not how economies work. No-one is able to come up with the magic policy or development that suddenly turns the economy’s clock back to August 2008 and keep it there.

This is why Cityscape matters. Part of getting on that road to recovery is about making sure people know you are intending to travel on it, and Cityscape managing director Rohan Marwaha has very astutely pointed out that if you’re not here, you’re showing a lack of faith in Dubai and the real estate market in general.

At a time when real, hard information is hard to come by, Marwaha has chosen to be honest and admit that the show will probably be smaller than last year’s. Applaud his honesty and straight talk, because that’s what we really need for a recovery.

This is likely to be a show where developers will wear their poker faces and try to keep their cards very close to their chests. As a journalist, but also as someone who believes in Dubai, I urge them to break free of that instinct.

Tell the world what you’re doing. Tell the world what’s happening. Tell the world what’s to come.

And most importantly, tell the world that Dubai is here to stay.

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