Dubai has emerged as a dynamic political economy, with a strong international profile and large expatriate population attracted by the emirate’s relatively liberal social norms. In response to the emirate’s relatively low reserves of oil, in contrast to those of Abu Dhabi, Dubai is in the process of transforming itself into one of the world’s leading business, financial and tourism centres. It is now recognised as a truly cosmopolitan city of the future, having grown from a small trading outpost to the leading commercial centre in the Middle East.

Strategically located between the markets of North America, Europe and the Far East, Dubai is rapidly achieving its vision of attracting some of the world’s leading companies and financial institutions, offering them world standard facilities in an environment in which free trade and enterprise is encouraged. This focus on business is being promoted through a number of free zone cities and is leading to a rapid increase in the permanent population of Dubai, driven largely by an influx of well-educated foreign expatriates who view Dubai as an attractive environment in which to pursue their careers with the many multinational businesses establishing a presence in the emirate. Dubai’s status as an emerging international financial centre was confirmed in 2003 when it hosted the IMF/World Bank annual meeting, the first time it has been held in the Middle East.

Coupled with the focus on attracting global business to Dubai is the creation of world standard tourist facilities aimed at attracting, by 2015, up to 30 million tourist and transit visitors to Dubai each year. Both these initiatives has led to a boom in property development activity aimed at both satisfying the growing demand for high quality business accommodation, residential accommodation for the growing permanent population and tourist and leisure hotels and resorts for the expanding tourist industry