After spending the better part of a day chasing him around the Statler Hotel in Ithaca, New York (think classic Scooby-Doo chase scene), I finally was able to corner Jumeirah Group’s executive chairman Gerald Lawless for a brief interview.

I was eager to ask Lawless (who was giving a keynote address at the Cornell Hospitality Research Summit) about the state of halted developments in the city-state of Dubai where Jumeirah makes its home. I’d heard anecdotes from my sources in Dubai about all the paralyzed construction cranes standing next to hotel developments crippled by debt.

Lawless’ answer was quick, confident, matter-of-fact: “Dubai is beginning to come out of the recession,” he said, shaking off my question about standstill development. He added that the US$26-billion restructuring plan Dubai World reached with its lenders will help get those construction cranes moving once again.

Adding to supply as the industry continues to fight its way out of the downturn might not make sense on the surface until you realize Dubai is caught between a rock and a hard place.

The emirate needs to attract 2.5 million more tourists to fuel its hotel growth, according to a Bloomberg report. Not an easy prospect when economic worries are forcing more people to stay home.

The emirate has a total of 70 hotel projects in the development pipeline comprising 28,927 rooms, according to an analysis by STR Global.

I appreciate that Dubai’s leaders are trying to build the region up to become the world’s next big global business hub. But it’s time for Dubai to bite the bullet and accept that it won’t be able to build itself out of this downturn. The emirate would be well-served to follow the lead of markets elsewhere around the globe and keep those cranes still.