The challenges of economic diversification through tourism: the case of Abu Dhabi

In recent years, tourism has become a ubiquitous vehicle for economic development and diversification and, for many regions and countries both in the developed and less developed worlds, tourism has become an integral element of economic development policy. Even those countries that, in the past, have had neither the desire nor the need to seek alternative economic sectors increasingly have been turning to tourism as a potentially effective means of achieving economic growth and diversification. As this paper argues, however, the justification for using tourism as an agent of economic development must be treated with some caution. Focusing upon the case of Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich emirate that in recent years, and in common with other countries in the region, has been seeking economic diversification through tourism to counter instability in global oil prices, a number of challenges to tourism development are identified. These may be overcome collectively through significant investment in product and promotion but, as the example of Abu Dhabi demonstrates, tourism may not always be an easy or cost-effective means of achieving economic growth and diversification. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.