Business and tourism opportunities in Perth

Six years ago Emirates first flight to Australia arrived in Melbourne, and since then trade between Australia and the UAE has tripled. Now Western Australia is hoping to repeat this success with its own direct connection to Dubai from Perth. The chances of success are excellent.

Perth is only 11 hours away from Dubai, and Emirates onward connections to Europe will actually provide the fastest available route to the continent and UK. But what are the two-way business opportunities for trade and tourism?

For starters, Perth is a great new tourist destination for UAE and Gulf visitors. It is safe and friendly, and the city has a Mediterranean climate with the highest number of hours of sunshine in Australia. There is plenty to do, from nightlife to nature trails and beautiful scenery, and families are most welcome.

Hotels like the Burswood are to top international standards (www.burswood.com.au), and restaurants also reach the highest standards, for instance Fraser's restaurant in Kings Park, the largest botanical garden in Australia (www.frasersrestaurant.com.au).

Business links with the Gulf region are already growing. For example, Sandalford Wines has just signed an exclusive supply deal with Jumeirah International Hotels after winning a blind tasting competition against 300 other wine producers. At the same time Sandalford (www.sandalford.com) is promoting its beautiful Perth estate as a tourist destination with a deluxe cruise from the city centre to the vineyard, and also has a luxury chateau development on the drawing board.

Other wine producers would love to enter the Gulf market, such as Vasse Felix (www.vassefelix.com.au), part of the Heytesbury group owned by one of Australia's richest families Holmes a Court. Heytesbury also has extensive live cattle interests and is a major exporter to the Middle East (www.heytesbury.com.au).

Nearby in Freemantle, hotels such as the Esplanade offer fine standards of hospitality (www.esplanadehotelfreemantle.com.au). While the Perth Mint is likely to interest Middle East visitors (www.perthmint.com.au), as well as the south sea pearl producer Artisans of the Sea (www.artisansofthesea.com.au) in Freemantle, or designer jewelers like Linneys (www.linneys.com.au).

However, Western Australia will also attract investment interest from the Middle East. Perth real estate looks undervalued by international standards, and a typical four-bedroom detached house starts from $100,000 and a house with a view over the spectacular Swan River bay area costs from $1 million.

Likewise the educational opportunities in this tranquil, safe and geographically isolated city are considerable. Again the Emirates flight opens a pandora's box of opportunities for Gulf students, although not much has been done to develop this aspect of cooperation yet.

There can be no doubt that the new Western Australia trade and investment office in Dubai will be surprised by the level of interest when it opens in October. Australia's largest and richest state is a natural business partner for the region, and the new Emirates flight has greatly increased accessibility.