The Yas Island Metaverse: Abu Dhabi tourist destination is recreated in virtual world

Users will be able to purchase digital homes, discover cultural attractions and visit theme parks

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld or Warner Bros can now be experienced virtually in the Metaverse. Photo: Yas Island

Yas Island has been recreated in the metaverse as part of the first phase of replicating Abu Dhabi in the virtual world.

The initiative, involving the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, Aldar, Miral, twofour54, Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management, Flash Entertainment and Yas Island, will give visitors virtual access to the many attractions on the island.

The Yas Island Metaverse will allow users to build and purchase digital homes, discover cultural attractions, enjoy theme park adventures, special events, premier golf courses, and the Yas Marina racing circuit.

"As the emirate’s offerings evolve, this project provides a new and compelling perspective which allows the world to discover Abu Dhabi in their own time and space," said Saood Al Hosani, undersecretary at DCT Abu Dhabi.

"The innovative, interactive platform is perfect for highlighting the exceptional lifestyle, cultural and entertainment experiences that Abu Dhabi presents to all visitors and will give both virtual residents and travellers the power to curate their own unique Abu Dhabi itinerary – within a whole new sphere of reality.”

The project is currently in the development phase, DCT Abu Dhabi said.

It added that the island is being recreated using "multiple world-leading metaverse platforms, including The Sandbox and Roblox, and is powered by Super League Gaming".

It will be operational and fully available to digital visitors once completed in the first quarter of 2023.

Organisations across the UAE are expanding their involvement with the metaverse, in line with the nation's digital push.

The UAE Ministry of Economy last month unveiled its new headquarters in the metaverse, where it will provide its full portfolio of services to more users in the virtual world.

In June, Ajman Police set up a metaverse platform that allows users to interact with officers.

And in May, Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority entered the metaverse with the establishment of its Metaverse HQ, making it the first regulator to have a presence there.

It announced at last month's Dubai Metaverse Assembly that Dubai is considering plans to implement a new economic output metric - "gross metaverse product" - to measure the contribution of the metaverse to its economy.

What is the metaverse?

The metaverse is where people, represented by avatars or three-dimensional likenesses, can interact in virtual worlds.

It is part of Web3, the next evolutionary step of the internet, with blockchain, decentralisation, openness and greater user utility among its core components.

The value of the global metaverse market is forecast to exceed $1.6 trillion by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate of more than 50 per cent, from an estimated $40 billion in 2021, Canada-based Precedence Research said.

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Dubai Metaverse Assembly - in pictures

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  Presentations regarding different facets of Metaverse at the Dubai Metaverse Assembly at Museum of the Future. All photos: Khushnum Bhandari / The National

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  Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, speaks about The Building Blocks for WEB 3.0 and the Metaverse.

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  From left, Alex Gubbay, Head of Digital at 'The National', moderator Amin Al Zarouni, of Bedu, Abdelrahman Mohamed, of MetaCon Global, Abdulla Mohamed Al Dhaheri, of Chaintech Lab, and Haya Al Gussain, of Evolve Network Club take part in the UAE Metaverse Contributors' panel discussion.

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  From left, Jane Witherspoon of Euronews moderates a panel discussion on 'Which sectors is the Metaverse already impacting' with Yusuf Bahadir, of GoArt, Vishal Gondal, founder and CEO of GOQii, David Clark-Joseph, of Pixelynx and Bradford Bird, of The Fabricant.

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  Tom Urquhart from Arabian Radio Network speaks about gaming with Ahmed Tehemar, of Gamefi.

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  From left, Mustafa Alrawi of 'The National' speaks to Adel Al Redha, CEO of Emirates about 'Opportunities in Aviation'.

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  A visitor tests a virtual reality headset at the Dubai Metaverse Assembly at Museum of Future.

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  From left, moderator Mina Al-Oraibi, Editor-in-Chief at 'The National', HSBC's Catherine Zhou, Alexander Chehade from Binance, Keith Jordan from Mastercard, DIFC Authority's Christian Kunz and Vinit Shah from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority discuss the role of governments in virtual worlds.

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  Ziad Traboulsi from Meta addresses the assembly.

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  Gabriel Abed, ambassador of Barbados to the UAE, speaks about the future of nations in the Metaverse.

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  Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, attends the event at Museum of the Future.

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  From left, Euronews moderator Laura Buckwell, Cathy Li of the World Economic Forum, Digital Dubai's Marwan Al Zarouni, Meta's James Hairston and Balsam Danhach of FTX discuss 'Maximizing the Potential of Ecosystems on the Metaverse'.

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  Brandy Scott of the Arabian Radio Network, left, and Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World discuss 'How the Metaverse will Enable People and Operations'.

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  Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Digital Economy, AI and Remote Working System, speaks about 'Unlocking Dubai's Potential'.

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  Asma Shabab of Accenture leads the 'Building the Responsible Metaverse' discussion with virtual speaker Anne Groeppelin, also from Accenture.

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  Ms Li, left, and Mr Hairston, right, listen as Mr Al Zarouni makes a point.

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  Mr Al Olama, who is also Chairman of Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy and Vice Chairman of the Higher Committee for Future Technology and Digital Economy in Dubai.

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  Moderator Ms Buckwell leads the panel discussion on 'Maximizing the Potential of Ecosystems on the Metaverse'.

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  From left, The National's Sarah Forster moderates a discussion with Samuel Hamilton of the Decentraland Foundation, Majid Al Futtaim's Joe Abi Akl, Damac Properties' Ali Sajwani and Guy Parsonage from PwC on 'Opportunities in Virtual Real Estate'.

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  Ihab Foudeh from Microsoft speaks on the topic of 'Unravelling the Metaverse and its Future'.

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  Khalifa Al Jaziri Al Shehhi gives a presentation on 'Metaverse and the Economy'.

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  Some of the audience at the Dubai Metaverse Assembly.

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  From left, Mr Abi Akl, Mr Sajwani and Mr Parsonage continue their discussion.

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  The audience takes in the discussion.

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  Front-row seats for the Dubai Metaverse Assembly.

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  Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq, second from left, joins a discussion on 'Metaverse and the Economy' moderated by Karl Tlais, left, founder and strategic advisor of iAdvisory, Accenture managing director Bashar Kilani, second from right, and BCG Digital Ventures managing director and partner Mark Zaleski.

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  Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation gives the opening address.