60.2% contribution of the travel and tourism sector to GDP in 2022

Economic Integration Committee: UAE records exceptional and strong performance in various sectors

The Economic Integration Committee held its second meeting for 2023 under the chairmanship of the Minister of Economy. From the source

The Economic Integration Committee held its second meeting for 2023, chaired by the Minister of Economy, Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, and the presence and membership of the Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, and representatives of local economic development departments in the UAE.

During his opening speech at the committee, Al Marri reviewed the most prominent indicators of economic growth achieved by the UAE thanks to the vision and directives of the leadership during 2022, including the increase in the gross domestic product of the national economy to reach AED 1.62 trillion at constant prices, achieving a positive growth of 7.6%, while at current prices it reached AED 1.86 trillion, an increase of more than AED 337 billion compared to 2021, achieving a growth of 22.1%, so that the country recorded exceptional and strong economic performance in various sectors and economic and commercial activities, despite of the economic fluctuations that the world is witnessing.

Tourism Sector

He pointed out that the tourism sector is one of the main sectors that led the growth of the UAE economy during the past year, as the contribution of the tourism and travel sector to the GDP increased by 60.2% during 2022 to reach about AED 167 billion, and its contributions are expected to reach about AED 2023.180 billion by the end of 6, a growth of 8.3% over 2022.

International visitor spending in the UAE in 2022 reached AED 117.6 billion, a 65.3% increase over 2021, while domestic tourism spending jumped to AED 46.9 billion in 2022, a growth of 35.7%, compared to 2021, according to a report issued by the World Travel and Tourism Council.

He said that the UAE's economic legislative environment has witnessed qualitative leaps that have contributed to enhancing the investment climate, providing a competitive, flexible and sustainable business environment, and supporting opportunities and enablers for the business community, investors and entrepreneurs, through the issuance of many legislations and economic policies, in accordance with international best practices.

Economic Register

The committee reviewed what has been achieved in the stages of developing the national economic register, which included two phases, the first is linking the data of licenses of companies and institutions issued by local issuers in various emirates of the country, and the second phase is linking the data of licenses of companies and institutions from free zones, as well as linking data on types of licenses from all registration authorities in the country and free zones. The Committee also discussed the latest developments in the State's mutual evaluation file on the National Strategic Plan for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism, and followed up on the progress of the operational plan for company registrars.

The committee reviewed a set of new proposals for the Commercial Arbitration Law, in order to enhance the flexibility and competitiveness of the business and investment environment in the country, in accordance with the best international practices followed in this regard.