An evaluation of tourism development as diversification strategy in the United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been transformed from a land of deserts into a land of opportunities within a span of four decades. The robust economic growth of the UAE is evident from the booming economic sectors such as real estate and construction, tourism and hospitality, telecommunications, shipping and logistics, retail and finance. This growth epitomises the success of an innovative state-led capitalist growth model, under an able leadership. The main objective of this study is to evaluate government policies towards diversification of the UAE economy away from its heavy reliance on oil. The research examines the UAE Government’s policies towards the tourism sector, especially the role of tourism in the diversification of its economy. For this purpose, the approach and methodology employed in this paper is qualitative in nature. A thorough review of the literature has been conducted to understand the historical perspective of resource abundance and oil curse theories and rentiers, city state and economic diversification concepts. Qualitative research methodology in the form of a case study was employed to obtain an in-depth analysis and evaluation of the performance and development of the tourism sector. For this purpose, the larger Emirates of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah were selected. The results revealed that the exceptional growth of the UAE since the 1970’s has been triggered by the exploration of oil. The early realization of the resource curse by the government of UAE has resulted in various efforts being made to reduce the dependence and reliance on the oil sector for economic growth.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

phd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Nottingham Trent University

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• Al Ameri, MHM

Language dc:language

en