Dubai-UAE lure for tourists is based mainly on shopping
Sometimes called the shopping capital of the Middle East, Dubai Shows the strongest growth (along with Bangkok), increasing their arrival numbers by 10.9%.
Quick Info
Country: United Arab Emirates
Total Area: 4,114 km2
Population: 2,106,177
Local Language: Arabic
Currency: UAE Dirham (AED)
Time Zone: UAE Standard Time (UTC+4)
Major Airport: Dubai International Airport (DXB)
Major Airlines: Emirates, United Airlines, Aeroflot, Air China, Air France, Cathay Pacific, Jet Airways, Delta Air Lines, Lufthansa Airlines, Ariana Afghan Airlines, British Airways, Gulf Air, KLM, Qantas, Virgin Atlantic Airways
Summary
Glitzy, glamorous, showy!!! Dubai is certainly the heartbeat of United Arab Emirates (UAE). One of the seven members of the Emirates, Dubai boasts of an extraordinary mix of modern and ancient. A modern cosmopolitan metropolis, Dubai has steadily emerged as a global city and a trade and cultural hotspot of the Middle East and Persian Gulf region.
Although oil industry forms the backbone of Dubai’s economy, the city has not left any stone unturned to earn revenue from other industries including tourism, real estate and financial services. The city is symbolic for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, and caught the world attention with some of its innovative developments like world’s tallest building Burj Khalifa, manmade islands, boutique hotels and some of world’s largest shopping malls.
The city shares its borders with Abu Dhabi in the south, Sharjah in the northeast, and the Sultanate of Oman in the southeast, the first two being the most important cities in the UAE. The city of Dubai serves as the main gateway to the UAE, with a rising number of foreign visitors every year. According to a recent survey, Dubai is the 7th most visited city of the world; in the year 2010, the city hosts more than 7.6 million visitors coming to the region from across the world.