How does the UAE market compare to other Middle Eastern countries?
There is no comparison between the UAE and other GCC countries. I have traveled to cities like Riyadh and Damman in Saudi Arabia and the level of development is not close to Dubai. There are two things that make the UAE unique; its tourism and its exportation. Saudi is not promoting tourists to go there, but the UAE has the opportunity to make tourism happen. Dubai also has the majority of the free zones. Around 16 freezones are here, but there are a maximum of three free zones in every other country. Yes, but isn’t the tourism side being affected by job losses? Expatriates are going home but there is still tourism. In the UK and America millions and millions of people have been made redundant, but in Dubai this figure is much less. Thirty to forty thousand visas have been cancelled in the last six months but despite that another 60,000 residence visas have been issued to more expatriates, so this percentage is higher. It isn’t as bad as people make out. The fact that rent prices are d
