Why UAE is 2nd most recommended country for business trips

The UAE’s investments and prioritisation to promote the country as a major tourism destination has been paying off as the Emirates has been rated the best in effectiveness of marketing to attract tourists, mobile network coverage, government prioritisation of travel and tourism industry, sustainability of travel and tourism development, quality of roads and presence of major car rental companies.

This was revealed in the latest World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2015 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, rating UAE the most tourist-friendly country in the region and 24th globally.

The UAE’s status as a regional trade, finance and tourism hub and a major emerging economic player got a fillip as it was rated 2nd country in the world in “extension of business trips recommended”, WEF said.

The strong participation ever year by foreign companies in major local exhibition in technology, real estate, food and beverages, defence and other sectors emphasise the fact that businesses continue to maintain the UAE as centre of activity for their regional clientele. Not just exhibition, even free zones here have announced an increased inflow of foreign companies, setting up their regional offices in the emirate.

Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), the flagship free zone of Dubai and the leading trade and logistics hub for the wider Middle East, has announced an increase of 17 per cent in the number of new companies joining last year compared with 2013. A total of 679 new companies joined the free zone in 2014.

Similarly, the Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (Dafza) has announced major multinational companies joining the free zone in 2014 – including Bentley and Robertet S.A., Safilo Middle East, Mitsubishi, and Middle East Roper. About 27 per cent of companies registered in Dafza are multinational firms.

European and American companies topped the list of Dafza clients at 41 per cent, followed by GCC companies at 30 per cent and Asian firms at 17 per cent with the rest accounting for 12 per cent, Dafza said.

The UAE was also rated 2nd best in the world in effect of taxation on incentives to invest, low business costs of crime and violence and quality of air transport infrastructure.

An advanced quality of air transport infrastructure ensures the ease in passenger traffic flow at airports and strong network by the UAE carriers to their destination in order to attract more tourists in to the country.

WEF report said: “It has created extremely effective branding campaigns (1st) and an enabling business environment for the industry’s development, with strides in travel facilitation and the liberalization of its visa regime (30th). The country has a safe and secure environment, but improvements could be made in terms of health and hygiene services (69th), and some aspects of price competitiveness should be monitored as the cost of living is growing (103rd).”

From Expo 2020 Dubai to the construction of the Louvre and Guggenheim, the UAE is investing in and giving significant importance to the development of the travel and tourism industry. This is supported by its world-renowned air transport infrastructure (3rd) and positioning as a gateway for Europeans to Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

The WEF data showed that the UAE was rated more attractive than some of the major tourist attracting countries from the around globe including Malaysia, Thailand, India, Luxembourg, Denmark, Brazil, South Korea, Russia, Turkey, Seychelles and others.

Earlier this week, the Global Travel Intentions Study 2015 carried out by Visa ranked the UAE as the most popular destination for travellers from the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region and among the top destination choices for global travellers.

World Economic Forum study showed that the UAE was followed by Qatar (43rd), Bahrain (60th), Morocco (62nd) and Saudi Arabia (64th). Most of the economies in this region are price-competitive destinations and several have built significant travel and tourism industries in recent years, the World Economic Forum said.

Globally, Spain topped the World Economic Forum’s 2015 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index for the first time – helped by its cultural resources (1st globally), its ability to support online searches for entertainment (4th) – a measure of how well the country has adapted to consumption habits brought on by the digital revolution – as well as excellent infrastructure (4th).

France, Germany, US, UK, Switzerland, Australia, Italy, Japan and Canada completed the top 10 list.

Of the large emerging markets, China (17th) and Brazil (28th) made it into the top 30, whereas Russia, South Africa and India ranked 45th, 48th and 52nd, respectively.

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