Hero complex: Platinum Heritage Tours & Adventures’ accessible-yet-enlightened desert explorations
For Adam McEwan and Bassam Chamoun, the sky is not the limit. It is only the beginning. This idea is the core of the companies they have founded and operated for nearly a decade.
The former Destination Manager for Oceania Cruises and Emirates Airlines safari operation supervisor enjoyed putting together safari experiences that would blow away even the most “seen-it-all” travellers. As 2012 rolled around, however, McEwan and Chamoun knew they could go bigger and better for experienced, selective travellers as well as a wider swath wanting to explore Dubai beyond the Burj Khalifa, the Dubai Mall, luxury hotels, and Jumeirah Beach.
Their vision materialized in a big way, and by 2019, Hero Experiences Group encompassed all of their experiential tour companies—Platinum Heritage Dubai, Balloon Adventures Dubai, the Dubai Balloon, Absolute Adventure, and Hero Balloon Flights Saudi. The sixth company, Platinum Heritage Saudi, joined the fold this year with a gorgeous site in the middle of Al-Ula Mountains.
Adam McEwan
‘In 2012, I decided that a lifetime of tourism experience would be put to better use by creating a suite of amazing experiences that I felt our industry needed,’ said McEwan, recalling the details of how the company came together. ‘Along with my partners, we have created a four-time World Travel Award-winning desert experience company with the most incredibly talented group of people in our industry. In 2016, we combined this experience with the world’s first-ever hot-air balloon-based falconry demonstrations after we acquired Balloon Adventures. We have now ventured into fun and engaging self-drive boating tours with Hero OdySea, now the number-one ranked boat tour in Dubai.’
Bassam Chamoun
‘My experience was building camps, hiring guys, looking after the fleet, looking after training the staff,’ adds Chamoun. ‘When Adam and I launched the company, we split our responsibilities based on our strengths. He was focused on marketing and sales, while I worked out in the desert, supervised construction, hiring, and training staff, and ensuring our food was up to the highest standards. Our shared goal was to ensure the guests felt that the operation team delivered what the marketing team is promising. We’re offering the opportunity to rediscover the beauty of nature and disconnect from everything else, without distraction.’
Today, Platinum Heritage Safaris is set up to be all things to all curious travellers who want to experience the foundation of Dubai pre-dating skyscrapers and other man-made marvels. Under the direction of an international group of guides curated by McEwan and Chamoun, visitors are exposed to pristine deserts, distinct ecosystems, and indigenous traditions. Whether a traveller gravitates toward a high-end Platinum experience or a family- and business traveller-friendly Heritage sojourn, both tracks as well as personalized and bespoke desert packages take explorers to the geographical and cultural roots of the region.
The Heritage tour I experienced successfully bridged the gaps between ecotourism, comfort, and upscale hospitality. It was nice to observe the guides replace the usual “gee-whiz” safari formula with a comprehensive picture of what Dubai was like 50 years ago, from regional flora and fauna to a respectful look into the Bedouin way of life through demonstrations, performances, and, later, Q&A sessions with members of the community.
Shortly after arrival, my group was assigned a guide, handed refillable water bottles, and fitted with protective headscarves with a little bit of assistance. Next, we were loaded into Land Rovers (restored Series I and II Land Rovers for Heritage guests or Platinum’s sparkling new Land Rover Defenders) and rolled into the desert to encounter native birds and snakes as well as sand cats, rabbits, oryx, gazelles, red foxes, and other endangered Arabian species that are being protected within Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve.
‘Our private fleet of Series I and II 1950s Land Rovers ensures a desert experience in keeping with our sustainability and authenticity goals,’ explained McEwan. ‘We found a way to reduce our environmental impact by rebuilding them. Our 24 Land Rovers have already saved 270—18 vehicles each—from scrap. Although a vehicle’s environmental impact is important to our guests, driving an electric car through the desert isn’t feasible. Scrapping old vehicles creates large quantities of non-recyclable plastics, toxic heavy metals, asbestos, CFCs, PCBs, and rubber products, all of which need to be disposed. We worked with our mechanics and others to be sure they were in perfect working order.’
The way the guides ensured the goals of sustainability and local community support were neatly woven into the discourse was also impressive. Without being pedantic, our guide covered everything from the restored vehicles used for the wildlife safaris to the prevention of environmental degradation, the preservation of various Bedouin traditions, and the ways profits were being used to create educational field trip programmes for local kids and teens. As authenticity is often an overused word in tour marketing, and experienced travellers understand the fine line between good intentions and cultural and geographical appropriation, much care was taken in how different topics were explained based on what the vehicles passed on the route.
Following the safari, as the sun set, we watched a falconry demonstration with a falconer intermingling facts and his dry English humour between the moments when his falcon swooped and soared in response to ancient and modern training techniques for hunting with falcons. While this may read as touristy to some, the guides and falconers kept things real even when people lined up for photos with the show’s star atop a gloved arm.
It is another point of pride for the founders and staff that there’s no trace of cultural references not specific to the Emirates, such as belly dancing and Tanura dancing traced to Egypt. Alcohol is not served out of respect for the predominantly Muslim population, though the many non-alcoholic offerings add to the more complete picture the programmes hope to create. As there is a concern that the heritage and culture of Dubai’s past are slowly being lost along with elements of the natural environment, the educational component is designed to create greater awareness and respect for what’s legitimately found in the region.
While Platinum guests enjoy a multi-course Gastronomic Adventure with traditionally inspired, global, or vegan menus, Heritage guests head to vibrantly outfitted and partially tented campsites for dinner. As the fire pits were on full blast, we could view or receive henna tattooing, take note on how to make ragag bread and grill meats, or take a camel ride. I was very happy with the casual feast served at tented communal tables mixing familiar favourites such as hummus and babaganoush, mopped up with paper-thin ragag bread, different rice dishes, and the charcoal-grilled chicken and lamb. There was also plenty of temptation to try less familiar dishes such as sambousek appetizers, fattoush salad, and harees (a slow-simmered chicken stew with whole wheat grains). Following dinner, we were treated to folk music and drumming by local performers.
Balloon safaris, offered during the day and at sunrise, are not merely a thrill ride but a way to get a bigger picture of the desert landscape and ecosystems. I was on board for the early morning flight as it offered an uplifting twist on the popular terrestrial falconry demonstrations. Once the balloon was at its peak height, the falconry expert travelling with us allowed his fierce feathered companion to take flight in his true element. Even with falconry demonstrations being an integral part of the safaris, this bird’s eye view of the ancient art against the backdrop of a sunrise was truly spectacular.
At the Platinum campsite following the balloon ride, we enjoyed a Bedouin breakfast—albeit an elevated version—with fresh-squeezed juices, locally sourced fruit, traditional breads, a choice of omelettes or shakshuka and a non-alcoholic champagne alternative that registers on the palate with rich French sauterne flavours. The breakfast spread also included balaleet (sweet and savoury noodles with eggs) flavoured with cardamom and saffron, bajela beans gently spiced with olive oil and lime, chami (Emirati cow’s milk cottage cheese served with sweet dates), ragag, and chabab (Arabic pancakes topped with date syrup and honey). All of it came with a side with the knowledge that our money was well spent.
‘Our mission shapes everything we do, from being the only camp to run completely on solar power to donating over US$1 million to the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve,’ concluded McEwan. ‘Our ecotourism business model enables us to sustainably support, protect, and showcase Dubai’s cultural heritage and natural environment through educational and entertaining desert experiences. We incorporate all our social, economic, and environmental sustainability pillars while upholding our desert safaris’ premium and high-quality standards.’
Heritage’s vintage Land Rover fleet.
