The UAE is leveraging its geographic location and proximity to international trading routes to play a central role in the global travel and aviation markets.
No wonder the Dubai Airshow has become a must-attend marketplace on the industry’s international trade event calendar.
According to the UAE Civil Aviation Authority, the country’s aviation sector alone is valued at $80 billion, employs over 250,000 direct hires and approximately 225,000 indirect jobs, and accounts for nearly 15 percent of the country’s GDP.
Forecasts anticipating 200 million passengers a year by 2030 are at the centre of monumental infrastructure projects anchored by the 145-square kilometre Dubai World Central Aerotropolis, promising to sustain spending in the commercial sector for years, even decades to come.
The UAE also ranks among the world’s top 15 military customers with a nearly $25 billion annual defence budget. With the launch of the new UAE Space Agency in 2014 and a vision to reach Mars in 2021 to coincide with the fledgling nation’s 50th anniversary, the UAE has established itself at the centre of the 21st Century aerospace universe.
