The Middle East Economy

This chapter provides an overview of Yas Island, which hosts several of the emirate’s major touristic attractions and accommodation options. The chapter also provides a listing of Abu Dhabi’s other leading hotels and resorts, as well as useful telephone numbers and facts for visitors, including information about language, visas, currency and more.

The city of Al Ain is sometimes known as “the Garden City”, and with good reason. While the UAE is largely composed of desert, Al Ain sits in the centre of a large oasis that it shares with the neighbouring Omani town of Buraimi and which has sustained human settlement for thousands of years. Now, diverse economic activity is offering new opportunities aerospace supplies production, food...

As government plans come to fruition, Al Gharbia – the western region of Abu Dhabi – will be a model of responsible and sustainable development for desert and arid coastal environments. Indeed, under Plan Al Gharbia 2030, the region’s economy is forecast to double in size, and the population set is to increase from 185,000 in 2010 to 450,000 by the end of the plan. Already a hive of activity in...

Thanks in large part to high oil prices and an increase in its hydrocarbons production, Abu Dhabi continued its economic recovery in 2011 and 2012. Hydrocarbons remain at the centre of the emirate’s economy, accounting for nearly half of its GDP and almost 90% of government revenues in 2010. However, the emirate has been channelling its substantial oil earnings into other sectors so as to reduce...

Over the past 40 years, Abu Dhabi has grown into a major economic power in the Middle East. A series of ambitious long-term development policies have transformed the emirate, turning it into a regional economic, political and cultural heavyweight. The country profile includes information about Abu Dhabi’s geography, climate, population and political system. This chapter features an interview with...