As I said above: different sources and different dates. The article you posted uses figures from 2008.. that is SIX years ago. And in the middle of the financial crisis. Now I'm not saying that anything has drastically changed, but 6 years is a long time in economics. http://www.oxfordbusinessgroup.com/news/income-breakdown-look-government’s-main-revenue-streams "Total government revenues for Dubai have quadrupled from Dh10bn ($2.7bn) in 2003 to an estimated Dh42bn ($11.4bn) in 2011, according to the IMF." "However, oil is a minor contributor to Dubai’s GDP, with total government revenues from oil and gas adding up to just over Dh5bn ($1.4bn) in 2011," So those numbers would make it 12% in 2011. All together it looks like your link is talking about ALL the income that happens inside the Emirate, whereas I was referring to what the Emirate itself earns.
Thanks for that great explanation. If I understand correctly though, my initial statement that oil accounts for a small percent of Dubai's income is right, though, yes? Considering 12% doesn't seem like much to me (Please correct me if wrong). I just want to clarify, thanks.
Tourism is indeed big in Dubai, mainly because it is a relatively "new" country and they have made the entire place look so elegant all the time. Also, overall, Dubai is a rich place because of oil and their government is also not corrupt as other countries. I would not believe that tourism is the only thing that keeps Dubai alive although I agree that it contributes a lot. Retail over there is also huge, particular in luxury item retail. You can find there some of the most high-end brands and their items are always well-updated.
12% is not that much... that being said the Emirate is barely breaking even so taking away those 12% would be very bad for them. Eventually this will happen and that is why they are trying to invest more in tourism.
Retail and tourism go hand to hand. The locals will of course buy and spend a lot on all these luxury items, but there aren't enough Emirians to keep things rolling on their own. The foreign workers from the middle east and asia... they don't earn enough to buy any of that stuff. When I lived there (though I was in Abu Dhabi) the majority of the people visiting malls were western... so either expats who work there and tourists. (my guess would be that most were tourists)
That's true, where there are tourist, there are retail sales. Also, the Dubai tax free is a world know sentence, but I really don't get how they managed to sell tax free, the government doesn't need taxes most likely right?
Dubai has a very bright future indeed. I can see that tourism is really playing a major role in it's development. The more satisfied tourist they have, the more investors get interested, then followed by booming business that would generate more jobs to people. I just wish they would give more benefits to their employees to keep them motivated. Good customer service is very important in promoting tourism.
Sure, it's an attractive touristic destination, but why? Because they invested in infra-structures and in advertising, they even made artificial islands, so they are just harvesting what they planted.
I have heard a lot more about Dubai in recent years. More people are touring there so it is good for them. But they shouldn't completely rely on it as an only source after oil dries up.