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Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) expects an influx of visitors by the turn of the decade, and these projections are helping to drive the construction of theme parks, hospital wings, shopping malls and several new hotels. Dubai announced total international visitor figures of 14.2m for 2015, an increase of 7.5% on 2014, and became the fourth-most-visited city in the world. Additionally, Dubai International Airport (DIA) was crowned the world’s busiest air transport hub for overseas flights in 2015, pulling ahead of London’s Heathrow and staying ahead since. In the years leading up to 2020 a number of key developments are taking place that are designed to attract and cater to increasing numbers of tourists. The emirate is targeting new segments of the travel market geographically, as well as adapting its offering to entice more family groups and medical tourists. This chapter contains interviews with Helal Saeed Almarri, Director-General, Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and Raed Al Nuaimi, CEO, Dubai Parks and Resorts.

Although perhaps no longer able to boast more cranes operating within its boundaries than in all the other cities of the world put together, Dubai is still comfortably one of the world’s leading centres for the construction industry. Major projects continue to roll out, while existing ones finish off or evolve into new developments. This activity is not without its challenges however. Past misfortunes have left a legacy of greater caution and tighter regulation. The global environment, too, poses challenges, with oil and gas prices at a low, the dollar – and thus the dollar-pegged dirham – at a high, and growth slowing in China and sluggish in Europe. All these factors impact the Dubai construction sector precisely because of one of its great strengths – its global interconnectedness and international status. Going forward though, there is plenty about which to be optimistic, with contractors, building materials suppliers and manufacturers all seeing high demand for their services as the emirate prepares itself for Dubai Expo 2020 and beyond. This chapter contains interviews with Sultan Buti Bin Mejren, Director-General, Dubai Land Department (DLD); and Hesham Abdullah Al Qassim, CEO, wasl Asset Management Group.

In recent years Dubai has risen through the ranks as a global maritime centre, taking its place among the top port cities worldwide. As global trade becomes more integrated, transnational companies continue to grow, and sea, land and air connections proliferate, the emirate looks set to continue climbing the rungs, helped on its way by significant amounts of new investment. Further progress could be hampered, however, by the challenges currently facing the global maritime industry, including an oversupply of vessels at a time of declining growth in cargoes. Yet during its development, Dubai has demonstrated a flexibility and willingness to change that should stand it in good stead through any storms to come. This chapter contains an interview with Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO, DP World; and President, Dubai Maritime City Authority.

With major expansions across land, sea and air connections currently under way, Dubai’s transport sector continues to drive much of the emirate’s economic and international success. The government is fully committed to the continuous improvement of this infrastructure, with new rules for public-private partnerships aiming to enhance delivery in the sector. Meanwhile, Dubai finds itself in an increasingly competitive regional economic environment. The current slowdown in global growth, falling oil and gas prices, regional uncertainties and a strengthening dollar are also all affecting the emirate and its transport sector. Yet Dubai finds itself uniquely placed to face these challenges, with confidence high that it will continue to be the region’s pre-eminent transportation hub. This chapter contains an interview with Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, Roads and Transport Authority.

Insurance penetration in Dubai is very low and the potential for growth is immense, making the sector competitive and highly oriented toward future expansion. However, the current operating environment is challenging, with companies competing on price to capture market share, scale up customer bases and boost profits. An additional obstacle in the past year has been the decline in oil prices. Though the emirate is not directly exposed – indeed, as a net importer it benefits – the regional focus on crude exports means less liquidity in the economy overall. It also means a drop in valuations for most types of assets, including those insurers who typically hold their investment portfolios, such as equities and real estate. The emirate also hosts an offshore insurance sector in its financial free zone, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), and the operators housed there have helped create a centre for reinsurance, with specialist providers operating in niche markets. These firms are limited in their ability to service the domestic market and are instead looking at regional, African and Asian markets as a catchment area for customers.

The financial services industry in Dubai is a major economic driver for the emirate, and the Islamic segment is no exception. In addition to the emirate’s Islamic banks and takaful (Islamic insurance) providers, since July 2015 it is also the largest centre for sukuk (Islamic bond) issuance in the world, with $36.7bn in sukuk listed on Dubai’s exchange. The drop in crude oil prices in 2015 may constrain growth, but Dubai is expected to continue adding breadth and depth to its sharia-compliant capital markets, and to carry on its leadership in boosting standards and governance. There is a renewed emphasis on Islamic financial services, as the emirate has ambitions to become the capital of the global Islamic economy, a goal set in 2013. Dubai now produces an annual “State of the Global Islamic Economy Report” and has implemented various initiatives, including new offerings and capacity-development programmes for Islamic financial services. This chapter contains an interview with Adnan Chilwan, Group CEO, Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB).