UAE/World: Five Billion US Dollar Moon Resort Proposed for Dubai and Other Regions

While space tourism is booming among the super-rich, in Dubai, for example, the concept for an innovative, fully integrated five-star luxury resort called MOON, which is to be built to LEED Gold standards and attract more than ten million guests per year, could be realized. The iconic structure’s characteristic feature is a giant moon sphere with a diameter of 198 meters. MOON’s “unique internal lunar surface” is intended to be accessible to 2.5 million guests per year. A construction budget of five billion US dollars is estimated for the realization of the resort.

MOON is the vision of two Canadian entrepreneurs, Sandra G. Matthews and Michael R. Henderson, who founded MOON World Resorts Inc. (MWR), an architectural design firm and intellectual property licensor, specifically for this project. According to the two entrepreneurs, the concept can actually be implemented architecturally, technically and in terms of design within four years. Now all that is needed are courageous regional licensees who want to make such a destination become a reality. MOON is intended to offer guests an authentic space tourism experience on Earth, as the “main attraction” would be a hike on the “lunar surface” with a visit to an active “lunar colony”. The resort itself would include so-called boutique “Sky Villas” called “The Private Residence at MOON”, about 300 luxury apartments inside the building plus multiple integrated components one would expect to find within a large-scale destination resort.

MWR will license a total of four MOON destination resorts around the globe, one each in North America, Europe, MENA, and Asia. For implementation in the MENA region, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Qatar and KSA are being considered as potential locations. Potential licensees include major global companies from the entertainment, hospitality or technology industries. (eap)