The Middle East

The economy of Dubai may be considered an outlier for the region, for although its growth and prosperity has been fuelled by its proximity to oil, its own modest hydrocarbons endowment accounted for just 1.3% of GDP in 2016. While its oil-rich Gulf neighbours have long recognised the need to diversify their economies – but have largely been...

Although multiple factors are reshaping Dubai’s retail sector, new changes to visa regulations have helped the emirate achieve a significant increase in the number of international tourists, helping it remain a top global destination.

Dubai’s rise as a major tourist destination and travel hub over the past two decades has been facilitated by large-scale investment in the hospitality and lodging industry. The emirate has taken a leading role not only in the Middle East – where it has long been a popular tourism market – but, increasingly, further afield, where it is...

Dubai is one of the world’s leading shopping capitals, and the retail and wholesale sector is the biggest single contributor to the economy. Local iconic malls are constantly reinventing themselves, searching for new brands and experiences to attract global consumers to spend on fly-and-buy excursions.

With a significant number of new hotels set to open, a raft of private sector-led investments in leisure and business facilities, and the government’s ambitious transport infrastructure development plan well under way, Dubai’s tourism industry is poised for a period of considerable growth in 2018.

In late April 2017 Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), which oversees tourism development in the emirate, announced the establishment of Dubai College of Tourism (DCT). The new institution signalled a major move on the government’s part to address the shortage of well-trained hospitality staff in the emirate.