Travel and Tourism is the Most Promising Sector for Small and Medium-Sized Business in Dubai
If you are planning to start a small or a medium-sized business in Dubai, you may be interested to find out that the city’s travel and tourism sector is currently the most promising one. The city impresses with its number of visitors, Dubai hotels, as well as variety of events and festivals. In addition, predictions point that the rise of the travel and tourism industry will continue to reach new heights.
Why Start a Travel and Tourism Business in Dubai
Dubai is known as one of the top ten most visited cities in the world. Every year it attracts more than 7.5 million tourists from around the globe. Moreover, this figure is continuously growing on fast pace. Only in January 2013, the Dubai International Airport has reported a passenger traffic of more than 5 million travellers. In addition, more than 30% of Dubai’s GDP comes from the travel and tourism sector.
The number of hotel rooms in UAE’s largest city now reaches more than 55,000 and that of hotel apartments is estimated to be over 22,000. Around 427 hotels are listed on Booking.com alone. Despite that, however, many new hotels will open doors in Dubai over the next few years. That is due to the fact that the demand has jumped rapidly. For instance, in the first half of 2012, the hotels welcomed over 5 million visitors. That was 10% more compared to the same period in 2011. As a result, the revenue of the hotels in the city increased by about 20% hitting more than $2.6 billion.
Dubai is also famous with its countless events and festivals which attract millions of tourists and generate billions of profits. Last year, the International Festivals and Events Association (IFEA) gave its recognition for that fact by naming Dubai as the World Festival and Event City. The city is home of various events and festivals which focus on things like shopping, sports, film, food and many others. Among them are the Dubai Shopping Festival and Dubai Summer Surprises which accumulates a joint profit of nearly $3 billion.
Even Brighter Future
Dubai’s growth in tourism and travel is expected to continue at least over the next decade. That means that those who choose to invest in the travel and tourism sector of the city will enjoy a stable income and profit for many years to come.
One of the predictions for Dubai’s glamorous future in the industry was made by the World Travel and Tourism Council. WTTC states that travel and tourism not only in Dubai, but in the entire UAE will rise by 6.5% by 2021. This number can go even higher given the fact that today more and more travelers from the Asian Pacific, Africa and Latin America visit Dubai.
So, are you still wondering what business in Dubai is the most promising one? There is no question that the travel and tourism sector in the emirates is a winning sphere for any small and medium business. The current conditions are extremely favorable and the future perspective – quite promising.
Since small and medium-sized businesses do not have the capital to open hotels that could compete with the large chains in the city, they have many other choices. For example, guided tours are always popular. You can choose whether to focus on a particular area or topic like entertainment or culture. Another great business idea is searching services. That includes things like looking for accommodation, attractions, destinations and others for travelers. Also, you can open a food or dining business on some of Dubai’s hot tourist spots. If you prefer to offer products instead of services, you may try printing city guides or making themed souvenirs.
Dubai is a great place to start a new business, especially if you focus on the travel and tourism sector. The industry is the city’s most profitable one and its rising popularity is promising to make it an even more attractive place to start a small and medium business.
