Most of the news coming from the Middle East these days focuses on citizen protests and civil unrest. Reports about a major theme park resort planned for Jordan, therefore, seem a bit incongruous. Even more incongruous? The featured attraction at the resort would be based on the intergalactic Star Trek movie and television franchise. That sounds, um, curious and, er, highly illogical.
According to The National and other sources, the $1.5-billion (U.S.) Red Sea Astrarium will include hotels, theaters, a dining and shopping complex, and a park that would highlight the history and culture of Jordan along with a multi-sensory, highly themed Star Trek experience. Groundbreaking is expected in early 2012, and the resort is scheduled to open in 2014. Why Star Trek? It seems that Jordan's King Abdullah is a huge fan of the series.
Before tensions mounted in the region, countries such as Egypt were successful in attracting lots of visitors and tourist dollars. The United Arab Emirates had grand plans to develop its tourism base with an improbable collection of large-scale theme parks. Those plans collapsed when oil prices dropped and the world economy sputtered. Could Jordan reap success with a Trek-themed attraction? Perhaps, but the region would seem to need a great deal more stability for a major investment such as this to make sense.
Connect With Arthur: Twitter | Facebook
Photo: The Star Trek attraction in Las Vegas. Jeremy Levine. Used with permission.
No comments:
Post a Comment