In the following report we highlight the economy of the UAE and analyze its source of capital. We look at the various sources of income for the Emirates and what role does Tourism and Airlines industry play in the oil-dominated UAE economy. We also discuss the UAE economy prior to the financial crisis and how it performing in the international market again, focusing on the Tourism and Airlines industry in UAE. We then discuss the aftereffects of the financial crisis on the entire UAE economy and how it affected the Tourism and Airlines industry which are slowly turning out to be major revenue generating industries for the UAE. As all the sectors in any economy are interlinked, so are the Tourism and Airlines industries with all the other major sectors of the UAE economy and thus not only the direct influence of the financial crisis, but also the cumulative effect needs to be considered. These two industries thus are affected by the effects of crisis on other sectors of UAE and also of the entire globe and individual countries as the customers of these two industries are mostly from abroad. Looking at the brighter side, we analyze the scope of the Tourism and Airlines industries in UAE as the financial crisis phases passes out and what new prospects do these industries have in the post crisis era. Finally we conclude the report by providing the recommendations for further growth of these two industries based on the analysis conducted. Source of information is provided in the end.

INTRODUCTION

United Arab Emirates (UAE) was set up by joining the small kingdoms of the Middle East. Thriving of its oil based economy; it has also emerged as one of the fastest growing and most desirable tourist destination.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the fastest growing economies of the world with GDP growth of over 9.4%.The economy is based on varied aspects like energy consumption per capita, GDP per capita, etc. The GDP of UAE according to 2008 annual report is 270 billion US dollars which is 3rd highest in Middle East and ranked 38th all over world.

UAE’s Economy:

Before getting to the financial crisis it is important to know the structure of the Dubai’s economy which is one of the most unique and unusual in the world. It is divided into free zones setup by the government of Dubai. The zones are industry specific with Jebel Ali free zone being the fastest growing in the world. The zones offer a set of products and services such as: ready to use offices, Business centers, factories, Warehouses, infrastructure ready plots etc. Jebel Ali free zone commonly referred to as JAFZA is a part of Dubai based; a state owned free zone. It is one of the world’s biggest developers of Economic Zones, Logistics and Research and development driven Industrial Parks. The main free zones of UAE are Jebel Ali free zone, Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, and Dubai Maritime City which are based on the industries they are related with.