(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Pital investment to grow 4.the uae has identified tourism as one of the non-traditional products for export with high value that is aligned well with the country’s diversification strategy. — supplied photothe uae’s travel and tourism sector is expected to create 245000 jobs directly by 2023 registering an annual growth rate of 4.1 per cent according to the latest research analysis released by the dubai chamber of commerce and industry.the analysis also found that capital investment in the sector is expected to rise annually by an average of 4.5 per cent to reach dh143.4 billion in 2023. this would increase travel and tourism’s share of the uae’s total private investments to about 23.2 per cent up from 22.8 per cent in 2013.the uae is ranked the 28th among 139 countries and 1st in the middle east in the world economic forum’s “travel & tourism competitiveness report 2013”. dubai plays a lead role holding a 66 per cent share of the uae’s tourism economy with abu dhabi having 16 per cent and sharjah 10 per cent.data from the dubai statistics office show that in 2012 the restaurants and hotels sector was the highest-growing sector in the emirate’s economy registering a 16.9 per cent annual growth rate. it also witnessed an increasing percentage share reaching about 4.5 per cent in 2012 compared to 3.4 per cent in 2008.also in 2012 dubai’s transport and communications sector had a 14 per cent share in dubai gdp rising from 12 per cent in 2008. the sector also witnessed relatively robust annual gdp growth rate of about 7.3 per cent up from -0.9 per cent in 2008. however part of the transport and telecommunications’ sector value added can be related to the tourism sector. meanwhile the total number of hotels in dubai reached 406 hotels in june 2013 registering an annual growth rate of about four per cent compared to the same month in 2012 based on the data. value-addedbased on the world travel & tourism council or wttc in 2012 the estimated total value added generated by the uae travel and tourism sector either directly or indirectly reached about dh193.6 billion compared to dh176 billion in 2011 approximately accounting for a 14.3 per cent share of gdp.the uae travel and tourism sector value-added percentage share is expected to reach about 16.4 per cent of total gdp and to register an average annual growth rate of 5 per cent to reach dh325.4 billion by 2023. based on the same study the uae travel and tourism sector gdp in 2011 was larger than that of the education automotive manufacturing and chemicals manufacturing sectors. in terms of its direct gdp travel and tourism is slightly smaller than the size of the financial services sector in the uae. employmentin 2012 the estimated total contribution of uae travel and tourism to employment was 383500 jobs representing 11.3 per cent of total employment as compared to 363100 jobs in 2011. this is forecast to increase by 2.6 per cent in 2013 to 393500 jobs.over the next 10 years the sector is expected to create 245000 jobs directly by 2023 registering average annual growth rate of about 4.1 per cent. this includes employment by hotels travel agents airlines and other passenger transportation services; it also includes the activities of the restaurant and leisure industries directly supported by tourists. benchmarking tourism and travel sector to other sectors employment it is found that the sector directly employs more people than the auto manufacturing financial services communications mining and chemical manufacturing sectors. investmentthe uae travel and tourism sector is estimated to have attracted capital investment of about dh82.8 billion in 2012. this value is expected to rise by 11.7 per cent in 2013 and to grow annually on average by 4.5 per cent over the next 10 years to reach dh143.4 billion in 2023. travel and tourism’s share in the uae’s total private investment is projected to rise from 22.8 per cent in 2013 to about 23.2 per cent in 2023.another important direct contribution of travel and tourism to the economy is tourism expenditure. according to wttc estimates by 2023 international tourist arrivals are forecast to total 25.8 million generating expenditure of dh207.1 billion an increase of five per cent per year.the uae has identified tourism as one of the non-traditional products for export with high value that is aligned well with the country’s diversification strategy away from the hydrocarbon sector. the main challenge is to achieve sustained growth which will entail developing new approaches to the tourism market.the biggest economic transformation that the uae and dubai are witnessing with expanding tourism activity will lead to increased consumers spending and necessitates investment booms in the buildings and infrastructure that is needed to be carried out with great efficiency to ensure lucrative returns while maintaining competitiveness.— alvin?khaleejtimes.com
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