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Dominic Dudley

Dominic Dudley
Amaala Coastal Development Cultural Village

Gulf hospitality market banks on hotel-building surge

Following the chaos of Covid and a surge in visitors for the Fifa World Cup and Expo 2022, the Gulf hospitality market might have been expected to return to a period of relative normality. But major tourism investment drives are afoot as GCC states seek to further diversify their economies.  Almost 170,000 hotel rooms are […]

An aerial view of the Port of Fujairah

Fujairah’s ship is coming in – and bringing tourists as well as trade

Fujairah’s position on the Gulf of Oman coast has become its defining characteristic. The location has helped the emirate build a thriving maritime sector and given the rest of the UAE an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.  The Port of Fujairah opened in the early 1980s and successive development projects have added berths and […]

Umm Al Quwain

The small surprising wonders of Ajman and Umm Al Quwain

Last December Ajman ruler Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi approved the emirate’s budget for 2023. The AED2.92 billion ($795 million) in spending plans marked a 21 percent year-on-year increase, and the largest in the emirate’s history. And on UAE National Day last year, Abdullah Ahmed Al Hamrani, director general of the Ajman Department of […]

10 events that shaped the Gulf’s economies in 2022

This last year has been book-ended by two of the largest events the Gulf has ever seen: Expo 2020 Dubai and the Fifa football World Cup in Qatar, helping the region throw off the shackles of the coronavirus pandemic. Many events share a common theme, according to Andreas Krieg, associate professor at King’s College London. […]

Qatar World Cup

Qatar 2022 more about long-term legacy than short-term gains

Once the last ball has been kicked, the final whistle blown and the gold trophy held aloft in Lusail Stadium on December 18, the world’s attention will move on from Qatar.  But the tournament’s economic legacy will take longer to emerge. The history of World Cups and Olympic Games is littered with unmet promises and […]

Person, Man, Adult

How Qatar is handling the world’s football fans

More than one million people are expected to visit Qatar during the World Cup and the authorities are hoping that is the start of a new tourism boom. The opportunity for a country to present itself to a global audience of billions does not come around often. As host of the tournament, Qatar certainly finds […]

Energy crisis inflates Gulf demand and strains Europe

The Opec+ oil production cuts announced in early October look set to ensure high energy prices continue for some time – a boon for Gulf producers but a headache for energy importers elsewhere. The situation is particularly acute in Europe, where countries have been scrambling to find alternatives to Russian gas.  The first instinct of […]

Central Bank of the UAE

Central banks go digital, bit by bit

The turmoil in cryptocurrency markets this year has been a wake-up call to investors and regulators, prompting questions about how viable many digital currencies really are. According to CoinMarketCap, the total value of cryptocurrencies has slumped from almost $3 trillion in November 2021 to less than $1 trillion in September this year.  But not all […]

Crown prince keen to catch up after slow start on green energy

At a time of heightened global pressure to cut carbon emissions, many Gulf countries are racing to develop their renewable energy credentials. Bahrain, however, has been one of the slower-moving actors, and still relies on conventional fuels for almost all of its electricity.  The country had a mere 12mw of renewable capacity in 2021, just […]

Doubling oil output may prove a challenge too far

Four years after announcing a giant discovery of 80 billion barrels of oil shale and 20 trillion cubic feet of gas off the coast of Bahrain, Manama has yet to make a final decision on whether to push ahead with what would be an expensive and challenging project. The offshore basin, which wraps around the […]

Manama goes all out to woo international holidaymakers

If the number of people that poured into Bahrain in March for the Formula 1 Grand Prix is any guide, the country’s tourism prospects look bright. One observer reported seeing more private jets at the airport than ever before, and the race-day attendance of 35,000 fans was a record. Those signs of revival from the […]

Powering up electric vehicles in Saudi

Electric vehicles (EVs) are a rare sight on the streets of Riyadh or Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. This is partly due to a lack of charging infrastructure but mainly because commercial sales have yet to start – the only EVs in evidence are ones that individuals have privately imported. “You see the odd Tesla or […]

Mena has high hopes for post-pandemic tourism

Visitors are returning to key tourism destinations around the Middle East and North Africa, but not everywhere is faring so well The surge in passenger numbers at the Gulf’s biggest airports in the opening months of this year tells a clear story of recovery in the region’s travel and tourism sector. Doha’s Hamad International handled […]

The Shard, London

Gulf SWFs are back on a roll but beware Russian ties

Buoyant oil prices are keeping Gulf treasuries full following the pandemic The past few years may have been decidedly mixed for Gulf sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), but with a recent surge in oil prices and lockdowns ending the pressure is now easing.  During the Covid-19 pandemic many funds found their reserves heavily depleted by governments […]

Sitting, Person, Human

Iran nuclear deal remains in the balance

There is little doubt a solution would bring rapid economic gains for Tehran while some other Gulf countries would also benefit from an easing of trade restrictions, but political calculations could yet scupper a deal The diplomatic traffic through Tehran has continued at a steady pace in recent weeks, as intermediaries doggedly try to revive […]