It is alarming to see the transformation that could happen in just 50 years. Imagine the following scenario: a desert, few tribes, living in huts, made from palm-fronds, and whose main occupancy is fishing and pearl searching and main transportation – camel riding. Now, imagine the same place few decades later – skyscrapers, population of more than 2 million people, mostly foreigners, the fastest cars in the world, the biggest shopping centers in the world, the richest people – yes, I am talking about Dubai or else dubbed “the playground of the rich and famous”.
This city has so much to offer. It is an international trade and business center, offering more attractions than any other place in the world. Many people do not know this but oil is NOT the main income of the emirate – actually it is one of the smallest percentages of income.
Tourism is the main booster of economy with GDP of over 90 billion dollars per year. Yes, the tourist industry is really flourishing with more than 9 million tourists, vising the emirate each year. The emirate is becoming more and more diversified with people from all over the world coming, with India and Russia being the top countries, where tourists come from. By the way, the biggest man – made port in the world is here, with the biggest and most expensive yachts.
Due to the impact of tourism, the hotel industry has also grown tremendously. Dubai has the only 7 star hotel in the world. Hotel revenue accounted for more than 5 billion dollars in 2012. Because of the different financial means of different people, more and more budget hotels are being built. And this is new trend, because up to few years ago, Dubai was mainly occupied by luxury hotels. The goal is to make the emirate more and more affordable for ordinary people.
Last year, the United Arab Emirates, (with Dubai being part of them), ranked 14 in the classification of happiest countries in the world, in the United Nations’ World Happiness Report.
Maybe this is one of the reasons Dubai is so popular nowadays – it gives back people their long – lost happiness.
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