Dubai has emerged as the most attractive destination for foreign direct investments in the tourism sector in 2021, a new report showed.
The UAE emirate generated $1.7 billion across 30 FDI projects, according to The Financial Times’ FDI Markets, making it number one in FDI capital, projects, and job creation.
Around 5,545 new jobs were created during the year, according to the rankings which is based on investment destinations that attract 10 or more greenfield FDI projects in a year.
“While consolidating its advantages as a well-connected hub with world-class infrastructure, attractions and lifestyle, Dubai also launched concerted efforts in key source markets to showcase its capabilities in enabling business growth and as a leading global tourism centre,” Helal Saeed Almarri, director-general of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) said, as cited by WAM.
Government data showed 7.28 million international overnight tourists visited the emirate in 2021 – a 32 percent year-on-year growth – in a year that saw the hosting of the Dubai Expo 2020.
The ranking comes as Dubai, and the wider UAE, has been pursuing an aggressive economic transformation with a focus on attracting foreign investments.
In the same year, the total value of FDI capital flows into all sectors in Dubai exceed AED26 billion from 618 FDI projects, growing 5.5 percent compared to 2020.
“Rapid and effective measures adopted in the face of the pandemic contributed substantially to positioning Dubai as the destination of choice for global investors,” Almarri said.
A big part of the UAE strategy to transform its economy was carrying out major policy reforms, especially when it comes to accelerating ease of business for foreign investors.
“The new policies and legislation being adopted to align the UAE economy with global developments and the long-term residency being offered to investors and entrepreneurs will see Dubai and its tourism sector sustaining the FDI momentum through to 2022 and beyond,” the Dubai official said.
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