The tourism industry in the Kingdom has seen good growth in recent years. The number of visitors rose dramatically in 2011, making Saudi Arabia the largest travel market in the Middle East and North Africa. Plans to remove restrictions on the movement within the Kingdom of religious visitors from a number of countries, along with major tourism developments in the pipeline, are set to boost the...
The Middle East Tourism
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With oil prices at sustained high levels and the government pushing ahead with a large-scale investment programme to upgrade infrastructure, address social issues and further diversification, Saudi Arabia’s economy is thriving.
While hydrocarbons continue to make up the lion’s share of the emirate’s GDP, oil revenues are supporting long-term efforts to diversify the economy. Oil and gas accounts for about 52% of real GDP, down on previous years, followed by construction, manufacturing and real estate. High-quality transport infrastructure, meanwhile, is boosting trade activity and free zones in Abu Dhabi.
As one of the 12 strategic sectors identified in Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, tourism plays a central role in the government’s plan to reduce the economy’s reliance on the hydrocarbons industry. To this end, Abu Dhabi has invested heavily in the sector in recent years, creating more attractions to draw tourists, as well as building hotels and expanding the national airline. Indeed, the tourism...
Since 2008 Dubai’s tourism sector has once again become a major economic contributor, following a downturn in the global economic crisis. In 2011 the industry attracted more than 9.3m tourists – up about 10% from the previous year – and contributed some 31% of the emirate’s total GDP. In the last couple of years political upheaval in the region has seen visitor numbers to popular tourist...
Over the past four decades, Dubai has become one of the most important economic centres in the Middle East and a key destination for investors, tourists and corporations from around the world. The emirate boasts a diversified economy, an open business environment, and a multinational population and workforce, all of which have contributed to its reputation as a leading investment destination.