Dubai's economy achieved real growth of 2.1% in the first half of this year, compared to the same period last year, when Dubai grew by 1.7% compared to the first half of 2017.
The emirate's economy achieved a GDP at constant prices of AED 208.2 billion in the first six months of 2019, according to the Dubai Statistics Center (DSC).
flexibility
Aref Al Muhairi, Executive Director of Dubai Statistics Center, said: “The resilience of the emirate's economy and the structure of the business sector have contributed to the steady pace of stable growth in the emirate, despite the slowing economic growth in the region and the world.” Based on the strong logistics infrastructure in the emirate, which is a competitive advantage for the business sector, especially in the field of trade, this integrated structure serves the business of traders in re-export and trade with the countries of the region and the world. Measured at a rate of 3.3% in the light of increasing foreign trade, re-export and the high rate of 3%, to the tune of 210 billion dirhams in the first half of this year ».
«Trade» is a milestone
The economic performance report for the Emirate of Dubai for the first half of 2019, issued by the Dubai Statistics Center, that the activity of wholesale and retail trade continues to lead the economic activities in terms of the proportion of contribution to GDP, which contributed 25.5%, achieving an added value of 53 billion dirhams, Growth of 3.3% over 2018, pushing the overall economy to 0.8 percentage points.
Trade activity is considered to be an influential activity in the various activities in the emirate and the most influential in the growth. This activity enjoys the advantage of economies of scale. The advantage of economies of scale gives these enterprises the ability to reduce costs, and gives them a high competitive advantage that supports the flexibility of this activity, and enables it to adapt to economic conditions, as shown by the data of foreign trade, where exports achieved a remarkable growth of 17.7%, to reach 76 Billion Re-exports grew by 3% to AED 210 billion, reflecting the ability of the business sector to enter new markets and achieve trade margins that support the stability of this activity and support the local economy.
The growth of «transport and storage»
Transport and warehousing activity achieved a remarkable growth in the first half of this year, by 6.2% compared to the same period last year, adding value of 26.4 billion dirhams, driving the overall economy towards growth by 0.8 percentage points. The transport and storage activity encompasses all activities involved in the transport of persons and goods, water transport activities, handling and storage activities, mail activities, air transport activities of individuals and goods, and supporting activities.
Air transport is the most important activity in the transport and warehousing sector, due to the volume of its production, and the transport sector overlaps clearly with other activities, especially the main demand-driven activities, such as tourism and trade, which emphasizes the integration of activities in the economy of the Emirate of Dubai Economic growth.
«Hotels and restaurants»
Accommodation and food services activities grew by 2.7%. The value added of this activity amounted to about AED 10.6 billion, with a percentage contribution of 5.1% to the overall economy. The volume of international visitors to Dubai during the first half of this year reached 8.4 million visitors Growth of 3.2% over the same period last year, according to Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).
This performance comes as a result of the efforts of the concerned authorities to organize events and activities attracting visitors, as well as the infrastructure and facilities and tourism services and distinctive and leading in the level of global tourism owned by the Emirate, which is constantly evolving.
Transformative Industries
The data also showed that manufacturing activity grew slightly during the first half of 2019, contributing 9.5% of the real GDP with an added value of AED 19.8 billion and a growth of 0.3%.
Real estate activity
The Dubai Statistics Center report showed that real estate activity grew by 2.1%, contributing 7.4% to GDP, driving the economy towards a growth rate of 0.2%, which was the result of real growth in rental activities.
Retreat
In spite of this stable growth in most economic activities, some economic activities decreased their real performance in the first six months of this year compared to the same period of 2018. These activities include agriculture, electricity, gas, water, waste management, information and communication, In addition to the financial and insurance activity, which fell by 1.4%.
Strategic activities
The growth of strategic activities was accompanied by a growth of a range of activities: mining, construction, professional activities, administrative services, public administration, education, health, arts and entertainment, other service activities and household activities as a whole, by about 2% compared to the same period last year. Together, these activities account for 23% of the emirate's overall economy and have contributed 0.45 percentage points to growth.
Real estate
Aref Al Muhairi, Executive Director of Dubai Statistics Center, said that real estate activity is one of the vital sectors affecting the emirate's economy, as the level of real estate prices and average rents is an important factor in attracting investments and stabilizing the population in the emirate.
He added that this sector is characterized by diversity in terms of types of buildings, and the availability of appropriate supply of them in various areas, which makes it accessible to all levels of entry for resident families, in addition to modern and diverse facilities enjoyed by Dubai in general and residential areas in particular. In promoting the demand for real estate services and goods and services produced by other activities, it has had a positive impact in promoting the growth of the Emirate's economy.