The UAE Economy

The UAE economy has greatly improved its conditions between 2012 and 2013. The UAE compared
with other Middle Eastern neighbouring countries has been politically stable and this has benefited
economic growth through influx of businesses and foreign investments made into country (UAE
Interact, 2013). While oil industries and higher oil prices have contributed a large share to the
improvement in the economy, non-oil sectors like transport, trade, property market, financial services,
and tourism have played an important role in bringing stability back to the UAE economy with a
growth rate of 3.4% in 2012. Tourism especially plays a key role in fostering growth in the UAE
economy. Tourism represents approximately 68% of total service exports in UAE bringing in billions
of dollars into the economy (United Arab Emirates Ministry of Economy, 2013). Different large scale
projects and attractions like beaches, hotels, resorts, amusement parks, shopping malls and
entertainment facilities in addition to the culture and heritage here make the UAE a world-class
touristic destination. Particularly in the Emirate of Dubai, Croucher (2013) from The National
newspaper wrote that because of the tourism industry Dubai's economy grew by 4.1% in the first
half of 2012, the biggest GDP increase in five years. With continued investments in the infrastructure
in all the emirates, tourism will continue to play a key role in improving the economy of UAE.
Technology in UAE
Technology plays an important role for the advancement of a country. Through Information and
Communications technology (ICT) in government and private sectors, services can be made available
online resulting in more cost-effective and faster transactions available to the public. For example,
through online portal, customers can avail online services from DP World, Dubai Customs, Economic
Zones World, and Dubai Multi Commodities Centre making it more simpler than before through
reduced paper work and less frequent customer visits (H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, 2013).Through
UAE e-government, people in UAE can make use high quality e-services for example utility
payments (European Journal of epractive, 2012). Technology plays a key role in developing airlines
and ticketing services. Online and mobile ticketing systems, fare comparisons, e-bookings are few
examples of how technology has greatly improved the convenience of the customer. The United Arab
Emirates Government (2014) states that the UAE was ranked seventh on the online service index' in
the UN's E-Government Survey 2012.Technology is essential for developing better quality services
in UAE.

References
Croucher, M. (2013, July 4). Tourism to drive Dubai to greater heights. Retrieved
from The National: http://www.thenational.ae/news/uaenews/tourism/tourism-to-drive-dubai-to-greater-heights
European Journal of epractive. (2012, September). eGovernment Strategies The
Case of the United Arab. Retrieved from
file:///C:/Users/sony/Downloads/eGovernment%20Strategies%20The
%20Case%20of%20UAE.pdf
H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi. (2013). UAE is The Leader in Electronic
Governance. Retrieved from Dubai Trade: http://www.dubaitrade.ae/mediacentre/pro-talk/397-uae-is-the-leader-in-electronic-governance
UAE Interact. (2013). The Economy. Retrieved from
http://www.uaeinteract.com/business/economy.asp
United Arab Emirates Government. (2014). mGovernment. Retrieved from
http://www.government.ae/en/web/guest/mobile-government
United Arab Emirates Ministry of Economy. (2013). Retrieved from
http://www.economy.gov.ae/English/Documents/MOE%20ANNUAL
%20REPORT%202013%20ENG%20091013.pdf