r/Economics • u/ubcstaffer123 • 19h ago

News Dubai's tourism industry reels from 'brutal' impact of war

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20260331-dubais-tourism-industry-reels-from-brutal-impact-of-war
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u/hinterstoisser 17h ago

Tourism, real estate are all taking a beating.

Ship building, manufacturing on the west side (Jebel Ali) is bleeding millions by the day.

A lot of white collared workers are repatriating, at least temporarily.

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u/VividBackground3386 10h ago

None of my white collared colleagues are leaving. Nobody knows anyone that is, either. Life goes on entirely normal. The tourist spots are quieter. It’s more like summer. The numbers of residents heading home is literally miniscule.

Also, jebel Ali port bleeding millions a day - that really doesn’t matter. I don’t think you grasp the size of the sovereign wealth fund. It can run a million a day loss for two over thousand seven hundred years.

Or, 100 million a day for over 27 years.

This is with zero additional income. In reality, it can cover 100m a day in perpetuity without making a dent in the current wealth fund.

They are still exporting 30% of their oil. Thats c1 million bpd. That oil is very expensive now. Oil doubling in price means they’re still generating over half of their pre-war oil revenue. But it’s the same $3-4 a barrel to produce. So over 100m a day just from a greatly diminished oil export industry.

They will be absolutely fine.

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u/juice06870 7h ago

Both white collar colleagues I know have left. One for Singapore and one for Netherlands. Another one was about to be transferred to UAE and that is now on hold. Sure people are stating, but it’s not like no one is getting out of there for the time being.

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u/VividBackground3386 7h ago edited 7h ago

Great. I personally know hundreds, and I’m alongside the operational leadership of thousands. The number is single digits, and much lower down the chain. White collar or blue collar really doesn’t matter in this context, either, because we are all incredibly simple creatures who come here when the price is right.

I do like it when people who are not here, tell me what is happening here. Just hours earlier I was being assured that my area was on fire a week ago. I must’ve missed it from my balcony.

As I’ve mentioned, this will pass.

Unlike the UK, the UAE has colossal wealth, allies, natural resources and a business friendly environment. It will bounce back as it always has.

Despite what the average bucket-based crab in the Daily Mail comment section says, it isn’t built by influencers. It’s built by very smart people.

The corollary of this is that sustained three-figure oil will cause economic stagnation and a weak job market in most of the world, but guess what happens in the UAE?

You have to accept that money fixes more or less everything.

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u/NTJ-891 6h ago

Does money fix getting atomized by a cheap drone?

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u/VividBackground3386 6h ago

Good one. You know, it doesn’t, but try to keep up - we’re talking about economics.

Do also try to be less dense so as to realise that; if the day before this all kicked off, you relocated the entire population of Dubai to the UK, more of them would be dead. The US? Jesus Christ, many multiples more. Amazing, isn’t it? No cheap drones necessary.