5 Reasons Why Tourism Is Poised to Explode in Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Greg Oates, Skift

- Jun 23, 2014 10:04 am

Skift Take

While the United Arab Emirates diversifies its economy by leveraging its location as a global air axis, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are aggressively preparing for visitor numbers that will dwarf those of today.

— Greg Oates

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During the Dubai Airshow in November last year, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways placed orders for 86 Boeing 777/787s, while Dubai-based Emirates ordered $99 billion worth of equipment—including 150 Boeing 777s and 50 Airbus A380s—the largest single aircraft purchase in civil aviation history.

Then in April this year, Dubai International Airport passed London’s Heathrow as the world’s busiest gateway for international travelers.

Member nations of the GCC are: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

TheWorld Expo has further fueled infrastructure development. The destination marketing firepower resulting from being the first Middle Eastern country to host World Expo in its 160-year history is almost unquantifiable, with visitation numbers expected to surpass 25 million people during the six-month exhibition.

The Amadeus study says that after the airline industry, the next largest beneficiary of Expo is the hospitality segment. The Dubai Department of Tourism puts growth as high as 75,000 new rooms by 2020, meaning the city could almost double hotel inventory in six years.

“Hotel business had always been relatively strong during the downturn, but generally, in 2012 it was an encouraging year economically,” says Clayton. “Getting the winning bid for the Expo in ’13 sort of gave that a little bit of a lift. It