Business, Culture and Vision

Dubai is perhaps best known for its sandy beaches, world-class shopping and striking contemporary architecture, but there is much more to it than that. It is a place of contrasts, where east meets west, and past and present co-exist harmoniously.The capital, Dubai City, offers outstanding quality of life. Because the vast majority of its inhabitants are expatriates from around the world, it has an overwhelmingly cosmopolitan feel. The environment is clean, the selection of goods is excellent and entertainment and sporting facilities are, in many cases, world class. Crime is low, and there is almost full employment.

The emirate of Dubai lies at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa, in the southeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. It is the second largest emirate in the United Arab Emirates, and has recently been experiencing the biggest property boom and economic growth in the world, especially since 2003, when foreign nationals were granted the right to purchase freehold accommodation in certain parts of the city state. Since then, the growth has been meteoric, and Dubai is now a leading financial and business centre with a reputation as a thriving, glittering, luxury tourist destination.

Tourism

1.9m visitors in 2000

5.4m visitors in 2005

15m visitors expected in 2010

Business

300 of Fortune 500 companies have an office in Dubai

Reuters, Microsoft, IBM, Dell, CNN all have regional headquarters in Dubai

World Hub

Emirates Airline

Expansion to Dubai International Airport aims to make it a world hub, with the capacity to handle 70million passengers per year in 2010

Investors who purchased property in Dubai Marina and in areas such as the Palm Island a few years ago, have seen staggering returns on their investment, both in terms of capital appreciation with many properties doubling in value over a couple of years and also through extremely high rental yields. However, it is not in these areas in Dubai that Dubailand Investments concentrate their attention, but rather in Dubailand, which they describe as “the most exciting development project in the world today”.