Dubai's economy grew 2.1 percent YoY in the first half of the year, with the emirate's GDP reaching AED208.2 bn (56.6 bn dollars) at constant prices in the first six months of 2019, according to data published by the Dubai Statistics Center (DSC).
DSC Executive Director Arif Al Muhairi said that the flexibility of Dubai’s economy and its business structure helped the emirate maintain its economic growth, despite the slowdown of the regional and global economy.
Emirates News Agency (WAM), also quoted him as saying that the wholesale and retail sector supported the overall growth of the local economy thanks to Dubai’s strong infrastructure as it helped boost its re-export business and trade with countries both in the region and around the world.
Al Muhairi further said that the trade sector posted a real growth of 3.3 percent backed by higher external trade, and higher re-exports which grew by 3 percent to reach AED210 bn in the first half of 2019.
The wholesale and retail sector, which contributes 25.5 percent to Dubai’s GDP, grew 3.3 percent YoY, while external trade grew by 17.7 percent to AED76 bn.
The transport and storage sector grew by 6.2 percent. The sector plays a vital role in Dubai’s economy since it is highly related to all other economic sectors.
Activity in the hospitality and restaurant sector, which contributed 5.1 percent to GDP, grew 2.7 percent.
The total number of visitors to Dubai in the first half of 2019 reached 8.4 million, a 3.2 percent growth compared to the same period in 2018, according to data from the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.
Manufacturing activity, which contributed 9.5 percent to Dubai’s GDP, grew by 0.3 percent in the first half of 2019, compared to the same period in 2018.
Real estate activity also grew by 2.1 percent in the first half of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018 and contributed nearly 7.4 percent to the total GDP.
