Latte and two BlackBerries to his right-hand side, Ahmed Abdulla al Mehairbi points to the dark scars that run along his index fingers.
Fishing, he explains, the old-fashioned way. None of this pole and spool business.
Like his ancestors, he has practised the art of using a stick, box, net and string.
As the fish is caught, the thread pulls along the inner lengths of his fingers, leaving friction burns.
"In time, the skin will darken," he said, concerned less with the aesthetics than the loss of the technique.
After wandering between various jobs, Mr al Mehairbi became the first Emirati tour-guide trainer in the country and one of the driving forces behind the popular tours of the unmissable Sheikh Zayed Mosque. Thousands of tourists to Abu Dhabi have been captivated by his engaging and reverent trips through the ornate marble building.
His passion as a tour-guide trainer is matched only by his rediscovered love of his culture and its traditions. Since joining the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), he has learnt much about the hidden arts of his ancestry.
"The saluki hospital, the falcon hospital. These weren't explained to us as nationals and I had no idea what was going on in there," he said.
Before becoming a guide trainer, Mr al Mehairbi worked as an accountant, a secretary and in human resources.
"I was looking from one place to another, always looking for another adventure," he says.
Eventually he found himself volunteering for a summer camp in Fujairah that taught leadership skills. When the ADTA began searching for tour-guide trainers, he had the skills and soon found his calling.
"When I finished school I didn't think to be in tourism. But it was in the blood. God discovered it," he says.
He describes tour guiding as an almost inherited, mystical quality. Guides are ambassadors for their country, he says.
"Tour guide is a job of passion. It isn't something you step into and then out of. It's a sensitive job. It is in the genes," he says.
Currently, there are two types of tour guides operating in the country: expatriates, who comprise the majority of the profession, and a handful of nationals.
Daunted by the perceived low pay and long hours and in the face of more attractive jobs in the Government and private sectors, Emiratis are often slow to think of a career in tourism. It is a challenge being addressed by the ADTA, which is holding seminars in high schools and training sessions for college students.
Mr al Mehairbi is also involved in training and developing both national and non-national tour guides.
The ADTA's goal is for five per cent of its workforce to be Emirati by 2012. Programmes have also been installed to train Emirati tour guides at museums in Al Ain by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage.
Mr al Mehairbi says he believes the emirate needs at least 100 Emirati tour guides, 10 to work at the Sheikh Zayed Mosque alone. However, one of the largest obstacles facing Emiratis entering the field is a lack of education about the sector.
"Before I joined the ADTA, I had no awareness about tourism," he says. "As soon as I joined, the things I discovered really changed my life a lot. It made me more committed to make changes in my country as a UAE national."
Between the developments of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums on Saadiyat Island, to the Formula One race circuit on Yas Island and the resort developments in Al Gharbia, Mr al Mehairbi says he believes tourism is where the future of the country lies.
"To the new recruits, I say they need to know how important this job is to the future of the country, how to serve the leadership as an ambassador of the country," he says.
"I'm excited. I know this will improve the life of UAE nationals. There's a huge place for us to be a part of it. Now I'm encouraging my friends to get into tourism."
Mr al Mehairbi's ambition is to be part of the guide and tour training at the major museums to open on Saadiyat. Until then, he is continuing to reconnect with his past.
Every week he heads to the Meena port in Abu Dhabi to sit with the old men in their majlis.
"At the fish market, I just sit with them and talk about life and the past. This is how you bring back memories," he said. One elderly man can tell the type of fish swimming in the water by the shape and direction of the currents. With the advent of speedboats, fishfinders and GPS, these are the skills that are being lost.
"Because his son lost interest in these skills, no one has inherited that from him," he said.
Mr al Mehairbi had never visited the falcon hospital, where the majestic birds are healed, until he joined the tourism authority. "The way of life now has changed a lot," he explains. "In my father's generation, he would have had a falcon."
Mr al Mehairbi says his new-found passions for both tourism and the history of his country's culture run in tandem. The UAE has developed indoor ski hills, shopping malls and the world's most luxurious hotels. But to make tourism a lasting and permanent feature of the country, Emiratis like him must look to the past.
"When tourists come to visit, they don't want to see the lifestyle of the UK or the US."
jgerson@thenational.ae
For more in this series, visit www.thenational.ae/people
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
The bio
His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell
His favourite quote - 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' by Derek Bok, Former President of Harvard
Favourite place to travel to - Peloponnese, Southern Greece
Favourite movie - The Last Emperor
Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great
Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
Andor
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
