Dubai aims to double the number of visitors to the city by 2020 and triple revenues generated from tourism.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, yesterday signed off on a programme that seeks to bring 20 million visitors by the end of the decade, according to the state news service Wam.
The Government believes that this would boost revenues from tourism to Dh300 billion and treble the sector's contribution to the emirate's GDP.
Optimism has returned to Dubai since its property sector came under severe pressure in 2009, and many shelved tourism projects have been restarted.
Sheikh Mohammed last year gave the green light for Mohammed bin Rashid City, a vast complex of 100 new hotels and the world's largest shopping mall. The Taj Al Arab, a replica of India's Taj Mahal four times the size of the original, is also to go ahead, as are plans for five theme parks that come at a cost of Dh10bn.
"The strategy behind the Dubai Tourism Vision for 2020 will further leverage a sector which has been a central pillar in the city's economic growth, success and diversification," Helal Saeed Almarri, the director general of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), is quoted as saying by Wam.
Dubai's economy grew by 4.1 per cent in the first half of last year, the biggest GDP increase in five years. Tourism has played a key role in reviving Dubai's economic fortunes. Its airport is now the world's second-busiest, according to data released in March.
Data from the World Travel and Tourism Council show that the sector's contribution to the overall GDP of the UAE last year was Dh182 billion and is set to rise 4.3 per cent annually to Dh277.8bn by 2022, equivalent to 14.6 per cent of GDP.
According to the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 10 million tourists visited the city last year, an increase of more than 9 per cent. The flow of visitors to Dubai has doubled over the past eight years, says Wam. Dubai's strategy relies on growing visitor numbers while at the same time encouraging each tourist to spend more money in the emirate. It looks to maintain Dubai's current market share of a sector that is growing worldwide, and increase the city's visibility in emerging markets in Asia, Latin America and Africa. It also hopes to encourage repeat visits, and to lengthen the average stay from the present 3.76 days.
"Today's conference delegate is tomorrow's holidaymaker and there are a number of steps we can take to encourage the business traveller to extend their stay or return for leisure trips with friends and family," said Mr Almarri.
The DTCM wants to build on a range of events, such as the Dubai Shopping Festival, to add to the city's appeal. The emirate has launched a bid to host the World Expo in 2020, and a successful bid would boost Dubai's visibility, said Mr Almarri.
Implementing grand schemes such as Mohammed bin Rashid City will be helped by falling borrowing costs, as liquid Asian investors are piling money into the region's debt markets, offsetting the hesitancy of European banks to lend following the EU sovereign debt crisis. Dubai's creditworthiness is starting to improve after it restructured much of its debt, further lowering financing costs.
Sheikh Mohammed called for a concerted effort to meet the new target. "We are aware that such goals are ambitious," he is quoted by Wam as saying. "[The] partnership between the Government and private sectors is a source of our pride and we will do all that it takes to make it a success."
fneuhof@thenational.ae
Premier Futsal 2017 Finals
Al Wasl Football Club; six teams, five-a-side
Delhi Dragons: Ronaldinho
Bengaluru Royals: Paul Scholes
Mumbai Warriors: Ryan Giggs
Chennai Ginghams: Hernan Crespo
Telugu Tigers: Deco
Kerala Cobras: Michel Salgado
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The Bio
Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village
What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft
Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans
Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
WHY%20AAYAN%20IS%20'PERFECT%20EXAMPLE'
%3Cp%3EDavid%20White%20might%20be%20new%20to%20the%20country%2C%20but%20he%20has%20clearly%20already%20built%20up%20an%20affinity%20with%20the%20place.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EAfter%20the%20UAE%20shocked%20Pakistan%20in%20the%20semi-final%20of%20the%20Under%2019%20Asia%20Cup%20last%20month%2C%20White%20was%20hugged%20on%20the%20field%20by%20Aayan%20Khan%2C%20the%20team%E2%80%99s%20captain.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EWhite%20suggests%20that%20was%20more%20a%20sign%20of%20Aayan%E2%80%99s%20amiability%20than%20anything%20else.%20But%20he%20believes%20the%20young%20all-rounder%2C%20who%20was%20part%20of%20the%20winning%20Gulf%20Giants%20team%20last%20year%2C%20is%20just%20the%20sort%20of%20player%20the%20country%20should%20be%20seeking%20to%20produce%20via%20the%20ILT20.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CHe%20is%20a%20delightful%20young%20man%2C%E2%80%9D%20White%20said.%20%E2%80%9CHe%20played%20in%20the%20competition%20last%20year%20at%2017%2C%20and%20look%20at%20his%20development%20from%20there%20till%20now%2C%20and%20where%20he%20is%20representing%20the%20UAE.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CHe%20was%20influential%20in%20the%20U19%20team%20which%20beat%20Pakistan.%20He%20is%20the%20perfect%20example%20of%20what%20we%20are%20all%20trying%20to%20achieve%20here.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CIt%20is%20about%20the%20development%20of%20players%20who%20are%20going%20to%20represent%20the%20UAE%20and%20go%20on%20to%20help%20make%20UAE%20a%20force%20in%20world%20cricket.%E2%80%9D%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
The specs: 2019 Audi A7 Sportback
Price, base: Dh315,000
Engine: 3.0-litre V6
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 335hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy 5.9L / 100km
The specs
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Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
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Power: 905hp
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Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
