Business Culture in the Middle East
Until now, I was in Dubai only for vacation or a conference, but I have recently had the opportunity to fly to the region frequently....
Until now, I was in Dubai only for vacation or a conference, but I have recently had the opportunity to fly to the region frequently. But currently it is not a good vacation destination - with a daytime temperature of 45 degrees, no clouds and 36 degree water, you can hardly enjoy a beach vacation. Throw in Ramadan, so no food, no smoking and no drinking water in public during the day. This adds up to empty hotels.
What positively surprised me was their business mentality. Sometimes up to 8 appointments a day: all meeting participants were punctual, courteous, and they all got to the point without winded monologues. How different that can be in Europe. There is also a large cultural mix of Arabs, Europeans and Indians, all conducting business there.
In case you did not know, the Gitex Fair this October will be held in Dubai. Anyone looking to relive a CeBIT circa 1998 is in the right place. I can strongly recommend that you go there to look at the market, not only as a commercial market, but there is also a lot of technology and software to be bought there. Oh and by the way: in October the weather is also more pleasant. :)