The UAE's path to becoming an unrivalled tourism and cultural icon
Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, has become a very interesting city for travellers because, in recent years, it has gone from being the financial and political centre to a megalopolis with important tourist and cultural projects, including the Guggenheim Museum, which will be located on the island of Saadiyat and is expected to open its doors in 2025.
This cultural commitment continues after the intergovernmental agreement signed on 6 March 2007 between the United Arab Emirates and France, which culminated in the opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the first universal museum in the Arab world. It also has other tourist attractions such as the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, where you can see 82 vaults of different sizes and minarets that reach 100 metres in height, decorated with chandeliers made of Swarovski crystal; the Heritage Village, an open-air ethnographic museum where you can see the ancient customs and traditions of the Arab peoples before the exploitation of oil, or Ferrari World, a theme park dedicated to the famous racing team that attracts millions of travellers from all over the world.
Dubai, on the other hand, has been voted best tourist destination in the world in 2022 by Tripadvisor. Its wide range of culture and entertainment has led to the visit of more than 7 million foreign tourists in 2021, thanks in part to the momentum of the Dubai Expo 2020. But it is not only the number of visitors that is growing, the city's economic data is also improving, with more than 5,500 new jobs created exclusively in this sector, and the outlook could not be more optimistic due to the end of the pandemic.
According to Borja Gervás, CEO of the consultancy Access UAE: "Although the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the countries with the largest oil reserves (6th) and gas reserves (7th) in the world and its economy has traditionally been based on this sector, the Emirati government is betting on tourism and culture as a key part of the country's productive diversification policy, with the aim of exceeding 31 million tourists by 2025".