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As part of a long-term strategy to diversify the economy by capitalising on the emirate’s natural beauty, Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) is moving forward with ambitious plans to rebrand itself as a tourism destination. By 2021, RAK expects around 20% of its GDP will be generated by tourism-related activities.

Unos días antes de las vacaciones, la ministra de educación del Perú, Patricia Salas O’Brien, anunció dos importantes iniciativas para mejorar la calidad de la educación: capacitación a los maestros y reforma de la planificación de la enseñanza pública.

For Qatar’s real estate sector, 2012 is expected to be much the same as the preceding 12 months, with most forecasts projecting a year of steady progress, though there are concerns that oversupply in some segments could keep prices down in the short term as the flow of new developments more than matches current demand.

Thailand’s tourism industry is showing early signs of bouncing back from last year’s floods, with figures confirming a significant year-on-year (y-o-y) rise in visitor numbers for the first 11 months of 2011. Statistics issued by the Department of Tourism show tourist arrivals were up 21.7% on the same period in 2010, which should go some way to allaying fears that the industry could suffer long-term fall-out from the floods.

The New Year has started out on a turbulent note for Sabah’s air transportation sector, with some fearing that recent developments may spell hard times ahead for investment in the state and its tourism sector. Yet a possible partnership with neighbouring Brunei Darussalam’s national carrier may hold a solution to Sabah’s air travel troubles.

Demand for energy is growing, suggesting the economy is gaining momentum and prompting the Kingdom to boost local production while putting in place plans to secure imported supplies to meet any shortfall. Analysts forecast the Bahraini economy will pick up in 2012 and beyond, with ratings agency Standard & Poor’s predicting in January that GDP will expand by 3.5% this year.