Retail and hospitality ranked UAE’s fastest growing sectors
dubai — The UAE’s retail and hospitality industries have been ranked as the country’s fastest growing industries over the past 15 years, new research by LinkedIn has shown.
While the retail and hospitality industries have taken the first and second spot respectively on the list of the UAE’s fastest growing industries over the period, hospital and healthcare ranked third, followed by food and beverages, and marketing and advertising coming in fifth. Globally the fastest growing industries over past 15 years include Internet, computer games, outsourcing/offshoring, online media, and staffing and recruiting.
“The UAE has witnessed dramatic growth in industry over the past 15 years,” said Ali Matar, head of LinkedIn Middle East and North Africa, noting that it was no surprise to see retail and hospitality at the forefront of the list.
“The UAE is spearheading these industries through innovation and has established itself as a global industry hub. With the best international and local talent working in the UAE the reason behind this success is clear. Looking at the global fastest-growing industries, these are focused around IT, Internet businesses, sustainability and wellness. If we look towards the next 15 years we predict digital jobs will become one of the fastest growing sectors in the UAE,” he predicted.
Knight Frank Dubai’s UAE Hospitality market update showed that the hospitality sector in the UAE is undergoing a range of structural changes. The sector’s direct contribution to GDP has increased by 138 per cent in the 10 years to 2017, with employment in the sector growing by 119 per cent over the same period. By 2026, forecasts from Oxford Economics indicate that the direct contribution will increase by an additional 72 per cent and as a result, related employment will grow by 16 per cent to over 659,000. In addition, the total number of overnight stays has increased by 155 per cent in the period to 70.9 million.
Knight Frank expects the level of growth in tourism to remain strong over the next decade, with total overnight stays expected to increase by 59 per cent to over 113 million by 2026.