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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates >> Theme park chain Six Flags Entertainment Corp. says it is in “discussions” with Saudi Arabia to pursue developing amusement parks in the ultraconservative Sunni kingdom.
The announcement early Wednesday by the Grand Prairie, Texas-based company comes after Dubai in the United Arab Emirates announced the day before it would call for an “exception to the destination’s (Persian Gulf) exclusivity clause with (the) American theme park operator.”
Officials in Dubai hope to open a Six Flags theme park by late 2019.
Six Flags offered no specifics on the discussions with Saudi Arabia, which strictly separates sexes in public and follows an extremely conservative view of Islam.
Conventions offer economic lift
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will help boost the economy before either of them get into office. At the very least, they are expected to help the hospitality industry in the two cities that are hosting the Democratic and Republican conventions next month.
As expected, the hotel occupancy levels and nightly rates have already jumped for the dates of the conventions in Philadelphia for the Democrats and Cleveland for the Republicans.
What is unusual is that those high occupancy levels and rates are not dropping dramatically after the conventions, which suggests that delegates and others attending the political shindigs might be hanging around for a few days for some tourist activities.
John Hach, a senior industry analyst for the travel consultancy TravelClick, said data from dozens of properties show that occupancy rates for the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia have already jumped 125.6 percent while daily rates are up 38.6 percent to about $182 per night.
For the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, he said, occupancy levels are up 158.6 percent and daily rates have jumped 109 percent to about $141 per night.
But instead of dropping back to normal after the political events, hotel rates are easing back gradually, suggesting that some delegates and attendees could be adding a few days of travel to their visits to the City of Brotherly Love and the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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