Tourism & Culture

Sharjah’s tourism sector benefits from a range of attractions, including its year-round warm weather, beaches, museums, proximity to Dubai’s shopping facilities and status as a regional cultural hub. The sector faced something of an oil price-related downturn in 2015 but has been showing signs of resurgent growth and is attracting substantial investment in the form of a range of internationally branded hotel projects in the pipeline. The sector’s development and growth is being guided by Sharjah Tourism Vision 2021, launched in 2015, which aims to attract 10m visitors annually by 2021. This chapter contains an interview with Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman, Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority.