Dubai has $354b hospitality investment
London: Dubai has $354 billion worth of hotels, aviation and other hospitality infrastructure projects under development, according to Dubai officials.
These include expansion of Dubai International Airport to meet passenger growth and development of the $33-billion Dubai World Central aviation hub in Jebel Ali.
"Investment in projects across the tourism, hospitality, leisure and entertainment sectors currently exceeds £177 billion [about $354 billion]," said Ian Scott, director of the UK and Ireland representative office of the Dubai Tour-ism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).
Dubai's emergence as the region's trade, business and tourism centre means the city has moved away from relying only mainly on tourists who come for shopping, a DTCM spokes-man said.
"We are promoting Dubai as a 'city of opportunities'," he added.
The ongoing expansion at Dubai International Airport is crucial to Dubai's target of achieving 15 million tourists by 2015.
The government is investing some $86 billion in civil aviation and aero-space industry projects.
