However, that's not the reality of getting a big travel route, @myst4au
First, you are a little bit screwed for travel if you airport is PHL, since it's notoriously slightly more expensive to travel in/out of. I can get a N/S flight to DXB from LAX for $1028.
Currently there are 14 overnights available in Dubai. Nobody wants to stay there for that long, so let's just say you split it with another evaluator and take 7 of them. If you were to negotiate a small additional travel fee for each hotel, you would have enough to pay for your flight and taxis between each hotel...but you gotta eat, and they are not going to cover your meals.
So...that's where the food/retail shops and the real $$ comes in. What's it worth to the other MSCs to get their Dubai shops taken off the board? If you can get $100 to take a retail shop in Dubai, that's now pure profit. After all, what are you going to do in Dubai for a week besides shop and write reports?
Thing is, the best paying meals are ones that need a guest, so that's where having some previous travel shops under your belt will help. Since you are picking up a ton of air miles, you blow some on your guest and get them an award ticket to come with you. Now you are set up to take all the high-end dinners in Dubai. Provided you have done enough of the hotel assignments in advance to gain platinum status with the hotel group, you will also get a free breakfast each morning. Take a few airport shops on each side as well and you come back with a week long vacation in sunny Dubai with some $$ in your pocket!