Special Features
Dubai: Facts and Figures
Dubai is one of the cities of the future and has grown in just 30 years from the inception of the United Arab Emirates in 1971 when it was a small trading centre, to the leading commercial city in the Middle East. Over the last 10 years, Dubai has expanded amazingly into trading, manufacturing and tourism, which now dominate the country’s economy. It has propelled forward with enterprising free trade zones and regional business parks like Dubai Media city, Dubai Internet City and Dubai International Finance Centre, making it the regional hub of the Middle East, one of the richest regions in the World.Destination Dubai Today Dubai boasts 272 hotels with 30,000 rooms, 47 shopping malls and over 6 million foreign visitors a year (2003) rising to 15 million by 2010. In 2004 for the first time, the tourism industry accounted for 18 per cent of GDP, which was greater than oil and gas revenues. Dubai offers a world-class airline (Emirates Airline, winner of more than 200 industry awards since its formation in 1985), over 35 five star hotels, the worlds first seven star hotel (The Burj Al Arab) and an international airport recognized as "The Best Worldwide and Overall Passenger Satisfaction" by IATA’s Global Airport Monitor.Its airport capacity is being tripled to 60 million passengers a year. This includes bringing forward a new airport planned at Jebel Ali by almost ten years, and building a specific terminal at Dubai’s main airport, to cater for the 45 Airbus A380 "super jumbos" that Emirates Airlines has purchased.
Booming Dubai The UAE population has grown 7.7 fold since 1975 to 4.3 million. This growth rate of 5.6 per cent is one of the highest in the world with 79 per cent of the population being expatriates.
Within the UAE there are a number of different Emirates like Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Dubai is one of the most rapidly expanding Emirates and whilst its population in 2001 was almost one million, it is now about to reach two million today. At current population growth rates it is expected to exceed four million by 2010.
Dubai has grown phenomenally over the past ten years but the pace of growth is actually increasing. Since 1993, Dubai’s urbanized land mass has grown 63 per cent and the Municipality estimates that Dubai will be nearly two and half times the size it is today by 2015.The UAE has 10 per cent of the global oil reserves and the fifth largest reserves of natural gas in the world with a 20 year track record of economic growth and no signs of slowing. Although the UAE GDP growth was 6.6 per cent in 2004, Dubai posted a stunning 17.6 per cent, higher even than China’s GDP! Ultimate Beach Resort With 365 days sunshine a year, Dubai is also the ultimate beach resort and was voted the UK’s most popular holiday destination of 2003. There is no need to ask why. With the beautiful pale turquoise waters of the Gulf that extend along beaches of pure soft white sand, you will see why Dubai is a fantastic place to live. From sunbathing and swimming to cruising, yachting, paragliding, windsurfing, deep sea fishing, speedboat racing and scuba diving, Dubai offers a superb way of life for everyone, with annual tourism growth of 17 per cent compared to the global average of 3 per cent! In the desert, Dubailand is being built - a $19 billion theme park, twice the size of Disneyworld in Florida.
Sport For All For sports enthusiasts, Dubai is a hive of activity. From the many top class golf courses to the sand boarding and dune bashing of the desert, you will never be short of things to do. Many top events are now held in Dubai including: The Dubai Desert Classic Golf Tournament Dubai World Cup Horse Racing (the World’s richest horse race) UAE Desert Challenge Rally Formula 1 Powerboat Racing Dubai Marathon Dubai Rugby Sevens Shoppers’ Paradise Dubai is also a shoppers’ paradise. With over 47 shopping malls and construction under way for th
