The UAE has granted nearly 40,000 commercial licences in a number of key tourism-related industries, reflecting the country's continued economic momentum, Economy Minister Abdulla bin Touq has said.
The 39,546 licences issued through the middle of September amounted to a nearly four-fold surge from the same period in 2020, Mr Bin Touq said, state news agency Wam reported on Saturday.
Those licences were in the sectors of tourism and digital tourism, hospitality, aviation, air transport and aviation technology, which "reflects the UAE's leadership as an incubator for companies and commercial licences across various tourism sectors", the minister said.
Tourism remained a major driver for the UAE economy, with Gulf visitor numbers growing: tourists from the six-nation council hit 3.3 million in 2024, accounting for about 11 per cent of total guests, boosted by the unified tourist visa approved in 2023, Mr Bin Touq said.
Tourists from Saudi Arabia comprised nearly 60 per cent of guests with 1.9 million, followed by Oman (777,000), Kuwait (381,000), Bahrain (123,000) and Qatar (93,000).
"The unified Gulf tourist visa represents a strategic step towards enhancing tourism integration," Mr Bin Touq said.
"It will represent a qualitative shift in the tourism sector across the Gulf and the region, enhance the visibility of the diverse tourism assets that characterise each GCC country, and contribute to strengthening the attractiveness of the Gulf countries as a unified regional tourism destination," he added.
The UAE's tourism industry is one of its economic pillars, complemented by a host of hospitality, retail and entertainment offerings, and forms part of the key non-oil economy.
Dubai welcomed nearly 10 million international visitors in the first half of 2025, up 6.1 per cent annually, while passenger traffic through the Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports topped about 62 million combined, latest government data shows.
The UAE has been boosting efforts to diversify its economy away from oil. Non-oil GDP rose 5.3 per cent rise on a yearly basis in the first quarter of 2025, rising to Dh352 billion, contributing more than 77 per cent of total real GDP, preliminary estimates released this month by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre have shown. The country’s overall GDP from January to March rose to Dh455 billion.
The UAE Central Bank last week increased its 2025 growth forecast for the country’s economy from 4.4 per cent to 4.9 per cent, as a surge in non-oil activity drives momentum.
Also last week, the UAE announced the launch of the National Policy for Economic Clusters, with the goal of boosting the country's gross domestic product by more than Dh30 billion ($8.16 billion) a year.
Tourism is expected to continue its key contribution to the UAE economy, with the Ministry of Economy boosting initiatives to encourage entrepreneurship both from local and international investors, enhance tourism infrastructure and enhancing the labour force, Mr Bin Touq said.
"The UAE places the tourism sector at the forefront of its economic priorities, considering it a pivotal pillar and a key driver of sustainable development," he added.
"It is also an effective element in promoting growth, diversifying sources of income, and increasing its contribution to the country's GDP."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20fixtures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ESun%20Oct%202%2C%20v%20Sri%20Lanka%3Cbr%3ETue%20Oct%204%2C%20v%20India%3Cbr%3EWed%20Oct%205%2C%20v%20Malaysia%3Cbr%3EFri%20Oct%207%2C%20v%20Thailand%3Cbr%3ESun%20Oct%209%2C%20v%20Pakistan%3Cbr%3ETue%20Oct%2011%2C%20v%20Bangladesh%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20squad%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EChaya%20Mughal%20(captain)%2C%20Esha%20Oza%2C%20Kavisha%20Kumari%2C%20Khushi%20Sharma%2C%20Theertha%20Satish%2C%20Lavanya%20Keny%2C%20Priyanjali%20Jain%2C%20Suraksha%20Kotte%2C%20Natasha%20Cherriath%2C%20Indhuja%20Nandakumar%2C%20Rishitha%20Rajith%2C%20Vaishnave%20Mahesh%2C%20Siya%20Gokhale%2C%20Samaira%20Dharnidharka%2C%20Mahika%20Gaur%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
MATCH INFO
Day 1 at Mount Maunganui
England 241-4
Denly 74, Stokes 67 not out, De Grandhomme 2-28
New Zealand
Yet to bat
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
