GCC tourism projects worth one trillion

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More than AED one trillion ($272.3 billion) has been committed to tourism-related projects in the GCC, to be completed by 2018, a study by Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) has revealed.

Of these, 85% (AED858 billion) are earmarked for the GCC, with Oman and Qatar in second and third place with AED61 billion and AED31.1 billion respectively.

Bahrain (AED20.77 billion), Saudi Arabia (AED16.44 billion) and Kuwait (AED12.67 billion) have also managed to attract significant investments into tourism project development.

Reed's survey also revealed that the UAE has the largest land area occupied by tourism projects. It has an area of 558 million square meters under development for tourism projects accounting for more than 75% of the combined land area under development for tourism in the GCC.

RTE was conducting the research to prepare for the inaugural edition of the Tourism Development Projects & Investment Market (TDIM) exhibition, which will take place at the Dubai International Exhibition & Convention Centre from January 20 to 22, 2008.

The event is being organised by Reed Exhibitions to provide an ideal marketing platform for the region's tourism destinations. It will also offer operators of globally-known tourism landmarks networking opportunities to support their expansion plans within the region.

"The feedback from the industry since we announced the launch of TDIM has been excellent and major players from the UAE as well as from the rest of the MENA region have confirmed their participation at the show. This is an apt reflection of the impressive investment commitments that MENA countries have been making in tourism-related projects," said Frederic Theux, president, Reed Exhibitions Middle East.

TDIM is likely to take up more than 15,000 square metres of exhibit space at the Dubai International Exhibition & Convention Centre, he added.

Khalid Ahmed bin Sulayem, director general of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), said: "TDIM provides an opportunity to address the challenges of boosting investment flows and know-how into the region's tourism sector. As the principal authority for the planning, supervision and development of the tourism sector in Dubai, the DTCM seeks to bring about continuous improvements in our promotion efforts and standards of hospitality. We believe that TDIM will help us in fulfilling this by offering an ideal platform to network and interact with major players in the tourism sector as well as other sectors that complement tourism growth."

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