An Annotated Bibliography on the International Tourism System in UAE

This annotated bibliography examines the international tourism system, specifically focusing on the United Arab Emirates (UAE), particularly Abu Dhabi and Dubai. It analyzes six articles, including academic journal articles and non-academic sources, to explore various facets of tourism. The bibliography covers topics such as tourism development, economic diversification, environmental impacts (including carbon footprints), social implications, and policy implications. Key themes include the UAE's efforts to diversify its economy through tourism, the positive and negative impacts of tourism on residents and the environment, and the challenges and opportunities facing the tourism industry. The articles highlight strategies for sustainable tourism, the importance of addressing social concerns, and the potential for future growth in sectors like medical and cruise travel. The bibliography also discusses government initiatives to boost tourism, such as fee reductions, and the overall impact of tourism on the UAE's economy and its global standing. The sources used include articles published between 2005 and 2019, providing a comprehensive overview of the tourism landscape in the UAE. The student's work is available on Desklib, a platform offering AI-powered study tools.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL TOURISM SYSTEM
International Tourism System
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1INTERNATIONAL TOURISM SYSTEM
Vij, M. and Vij, A., 2012. TOURISM AND CARBON FOOT PRINTS IN UNITED
ARAB EMIRATES-CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS. Journal of Environmental
Management & Tourism (De Gruyter Open), 3(1).
Mohit Vij and Anu Vij in this article has elaborated on providing a picture of the
progression and improvement of tourism as well as its environmental consequences in United
Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi is highlighted as one of the significant destinations in UAE and as
per the year 2008, Abu Dhabi attracted about 8 million tourists but at the same time, the
country made to the news lines in the same year for generating highest amount of carbon
footprints per capital in the world. The authors of this article have presented a brief and
comprehensive analysis of the background of UAE, in particular, Abu Dhabi, its
infrastructure, resources and the relevance of developing and growing tourism in this
destination that has highly emphasised on the man-made tourism resources that is energy
intensive. Vij and Vij (2012) have divided this article into three different section for assessing
the issues and solutions in relation to environment and tourism in Abu Dhabi. It is to note that
the article has identified tourism as a significant and efficient alternative for reducing its
reliance on the petrol and oil industry, which is still the backbone of the economy of the
country. However, it is also to mention that due to high tourism activities in Abu Dhabi, the
level of Carbon footprint and climate change has increased and with the same, it has also
influenced the decision making process within the tourism sector of the country, especially in
the hotels and airlines sectors. Abu Dhabi is striving hard for reducing its carbon footprints
by means of investing more on the environment by means of projects like MASDAR. It has
been also suggested that if Abu Dhabi make use of Photovoltaic technology along with
Anaerobic Digestion in its hospitality industry then it would reduce the carbon footprints in
the country.

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Hammad, N.M., Ahmad, S.Z. and Papastathopoulos, A., 2017. Evaluating perceptions
of residents’ towards impacts of tourism development in Emirates of Abu Dhabi, United
Arab Emirates. Tourism Review, 72(4), pp.448-461.
In this paper Hammad, Ahmad and Papstathopoulos have identified Abu Dhabi as one
of the promising tourism destinations in the world that has an economy depending on
shipbuilding, fishing, pearling, farming and handcraft trade with countries like East Africa,
India etc. However, it is to note that there are several economic developments that took place
in the year 1962 when the very first shipment of oil was exported from Abu Dhabi to the
other places. Due to the fluctuations in oil prices worldwide, Abu Dabu eventually realised
the importance of economic diversification at the time of development planning. According
to the author, tourism development is considered to be an important economic resource for
Abu Dhabi and therefore the government of the country focus more on it as a part of its plan
of diversification for the post oil dependency economy that led the country to experience
some unprecedented growth and development in the tourism sector in the recent years. It is
also to mention that according to the paper, the growth and development in the tourism
industry in Abu Dhabi is expected to impact the daily lives of the residents and also influence
their perceptions regarding the impact of tourism in their communities. It has been mentioned
that tourism has positively influenced the livings in Abu Dhabi by means of increasing the
recreational facilities, improving the quality of life, promoting cultural exchanges among the
tourists and the residents, increasing the access of cultural activities and has resulted in
economic development (Hammad, Ahmad and Papstathopoulos 2017). However, the negative
impacts of it include the environmental pollution, high level of carbon footprints, social
crimes, unpleasant crowds, increased living costs and inflation in the property values in the
country.

3INTERNATIONAL TOURISM SYSTEM
Stephenson, M.L. and Ali-Knight, J., 2010. Dubai's tourism industry and its societal
impact: social implications and sustainable challenges. Journal of Tourism and Cultural
Change, 8(4), pp.278-292.
This paper by Stephenson and Ali-Knight (2010) have outlined the strategies and the
principles that underpin the ambitious plans of UAE for developing a unique destination of
international importance and distinction. The paper has highlighted the challenges faced by
Dubai because of the global economic downturn and the recessionary measures that the
country need to pursue for encouraging its people to travel to the destination in notable
numbers. These challenges are similarly influencing the tourism industry and the sale of
products and services of tourism in Abu Dhabi in similar manner. It has been proposed by the
authors of this article that the country should look towards wider market segments beyond the
market of luxury travel, especially by means of development of the budget hotels. This is
further creating a challenge for the productive notion of a socially sustainable tourism
environment and at the same time, is intensifying the current social concerns at Abu Dhabi.
The paper has also focused on the ethnic distinctions in the migrant housing and the
geographical locations along with the social ramifications in relation to aestheticisation and
urbanisation of the space as well as the shortages in availability of heritage infrastructure and
cultural tourism at Abu Dhabi. Moreover, this paper has also identified the constraints in
relation to mobilising the resources for local employment and the human capital for serving
the hospital and tourism industry in terms of prevailing social issues related to expatriate
employment in Dubai.
Post, T., 2019. Abu Dhabi cuts fees to boost tourism, hospitality sectors. [online] The
Jakarta Post. Available at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/travel/2019/03/13/abu-
dhabi-cuts-fees-to-boost-tourism-hospitality-sectors.html [Accessed 2 May 2019].

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In this article Post (2018) have mentioned all the positive impacts of tourism sector in
Abu Dhabi for which it is recently planning to cut the fees related to tourism for boosting the
sector and help it in ailing and attract more international visitors. It is to note that UAE has
long been planning to diversify its economy. Due to the fluctuations in oil prices worldwide,
Abu Dabu eventually realised the importance of economic diversification at the time of
development planning. As per Post (2018), tourism development is considered to be an
important economic resource for Abu Dhabi and therefore the government of the country
focus more on it as a part of its plan of diversification for the post oil dependency economy
that led the country to experience some unprecedented growth and development in the
tourism sector in the recent years. It has cut down the tourism fees from 6 to 3.5%, the
municipality hotel room fees from 15 to 10 dirhams and the municipal fees from 4 to 2%. It is
also mentioned that at Abu Dhabi, the tourism sector is one of the significant and the key
alternative for the oil sector and therefore, it is very important to support the tourism industry
as it is at present facing several challenges in order to be able to aid in the process of
achieving the future goals of the destination. It is also to note that the economy of Abu Dhabi
has improved because of the income that the place obtains from the international tourist. It
has also increased the exchange of culture with the western part of the world and at the same
time, has now become bigger than the oil industry for which UAE is widely known for
around the globe. Abu Dhabi has become a role model for the other countries and cities
present in the Middle East.
Oates, G., 2019. 5 Reasons Why Tourism Is Poised to Explode in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
[online] Skift. Available at: https://skift.com/2014/06/23/5-reasons-why-tourism-is-
poised-to-explode-in-dubai-and-abu-dhabi/ [Accessed 2 May 2019].
Greg Oates, the author of the article has claimed that Abu Dhabi and Dubai in UAE
are aggressively preparing themselves in the recent years for increasing the number of

5INTERNATIONAL TOURISM SYSTEM
visitors and tourists. Both these countries are warming themselves up for the growth and
development in their tourism and hospitality sector. This article has examined the projections
of tourism in the coming 15 years throughout the region, particularly in Abu Dhabi and
Dubai. It is to note that Abu Dhabi is considered to be the leading contributor in the growth
of GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and this is not just in terms of improved expansion of
infrastructure but also in terms of passenger traffic and more globally attuned shifts in the
socio-political in both the private and public sectors. However, it is to mention that this need
of growing globally has increased the pressure on the tourism companies in UAE for
innovating themselves in new and exciting ways (Oates, 2019). With the same, it is also
claimed that tourism has positively influenced the livings in Abu Dhabi by means of
increasing the recreational facilities, improving the quality of life, promoting cultural
exchanges among the tourists and the residents, increasing the access of cultural activities and
has resulted in economic development. The future growth markets at present are under very
aggressive expansion and this include the medical travel and the cruise travel.
Frank, K., 2019. Fundamentals affecting the UAE’s Hospitality & Tourism markets.
[online] Knightfrank.ae. Available at:
https://www.knightfrank.ae/blog/2018/05/02/fundamentals-affecting-the-uaes-
hospitality-tourism-markets [Accessed 2 May 2019].
As per this article by Frank (2019), the tourism industry is a significant contributor in
the economy of United Arab Emirates (UAE). As per the year 2017, it was estimated that the
tourism sector of UAE aided more than 150bn to the GDP of the country and had provided
more than five thousand jobs to the youngsters. This further represented 4.8% of increase in
the total level of employment in the country. It is to note that tourism has impacted positively
to the destination of Abu Dhabi as Abu Dhabi in particular has provided more 2,550 jobs to
the unemployed in the area. According to the data presented in the article it is to note that the

6INTERNATIONAL TOURISM SYSTEM
tourism sector at the country has aided to the National GDP and has increased it by 138%
within 10 years. With the same, the rate of employment has also grown to 119% within the
same period of time. It is assumed that by the end of 2025, direct contribution would increase
by 72% and as a result, the related employment would also grow by 16% to more than
659,000. It is also to mention Abu Dhabi and Dubai has established themselves as one of the
premier luxury tourism destinations in the world at present and are craving themselves for
attracting more wealthy tourists around the globe. The positive impact of tourism in Abu
Dhabi include increasing recreational facilities, improving quality of life, promotion in the
cultural exchanges among the tourists and the residents and increasing access of cultural
activities.

7INTERNATIONAL TOURISM SYSTEM
References:
Frank, K., 2019. Fundamentals affecting the UAE’s Hospitality & Tourism markets. [online]
Knightfrank.ae. Available at: https://www.knightfrank.ae/blog/2018/05/02/fundamentals-
affecting-the-uaes-hospitality-tourism-markets [Accessed 2 May 2019].
Hammad, N.M., Ahmad, S.Z. and Papastathopoulos, A., 2017. Evaluating perceptions of
residents’ towards impacts of tourism development in Emirates of Abu Dhabi, United Arab
Emirates. Tourism Review, 72(4), pp.448-461.
Oates, G., 2019. 5 Reasons Why Tourism Is Poised to Explode in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
[online] Skift. Available at: https://skift.com/2014/06/23/5-reasons-why-tourism-is-poised-to-
explode-in-dubai-and-abu-dhabi/ [Accessed 2 May 2019].
Post, T., 2019. Abu Dhabi cuts fees to boost tourism, hospitality sectors. [online] The Jakarta
Post. Available at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/travel/2019/03/13/abu-dhabi-cuts-fees-to-
boost-tourism-hospitality-sectors.html [Accessed 2 May 2019].
Stephenson, M.L. and Ali-Knight, J., 2010. Dubai's tourism industry and its societal impact:
social implications and sustainable challenges. Journal of Tourism and Cultural
Change, 8(4), pp.278-292.
Vij, M. and Vij, A., 2012. TOURISM AND CARBON FOOT PRINTS IN UNITED ARAB
EMIRATES-CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS. Journal of Environmental Management &
Tourism (De Gruyter Open), 3(1).