Dubai’s departments of Economy and Tourism merge

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, vice-president, and prime minister of the UAE has decreed the merger of the Dubai Economy and Dubai Tourism into one entity under the name of ‘Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism’. The move is part of a plan to enhance government efficiency and resilience, while ensuring the competitiveness of the business and tourism sectors. Al Maktoum said: “The newly formed department seeks to support the economic and tourism transformations taking place in the emirate. It will adopt the same competitiveness and efficiency of the private sector and work together with it on various development projects.” Al Maktoum tasks the department with meeting seven targets to strengthen Dubai’s position in tourism and economy. These include increasing the added value of the industrial sector by 150% in the next five years, expanding export markets for local products by 50% and increasing the number of tourists coming to Dubai by 40% to 25m visitors by 2025. The newly launched entity is also tasked with making Dubai one of the top five global cities in the main economic indicators, attracting 100,000 companies in three years as well as 400 global economic events annually by 2025.