The Finance World Magazine| Edition: March 2023
The March edition of The Finance World Magazine (TFW) delves into the Zayed Ambition 2 project, which strives to investigate the feasibility of leveraging the UAE's burgeoning space economy for sustainable development. This initiative showcases the country's commitment to diversifying its economy and reducing its reliance on oil. In a featured interview, CEO Shaaista Khan Osman and Managing Director Osman Osman of Blu Blood share their insights about the event management industry in the UAE. This issue also includes insights from Sridhar Vembu, CEO of Zoho Corporation, on emerging AI tools, along with some advice for SMEs and startups. Through this edition, we also bring you insights on topics like the UAE's steadfast dedication to sustainable growth and development, Dubai surpassing global and regional tourism recovery levels, the sports industry emerging as a promising sector magnetizing international investors, and many more key informational articles in the finance sector. Keep yourself up to date with all financial sector news with our current news segments. Each person can find something unique from us. We believe our readers deserve real value from what we have to offer.
The March edition of The Finance World Magazine (TFW) delves into the Zayed Ambition 2 project, which strives to investigate the feasibility of leveraging the UAE's burgeoning space economy for sustainable development. This initiative showcases the country's commitment to diversifying its economy and reducing its reliance on oil.
In a featured interview, CEO Shaaista Khan Osman and Managing Director Osman Osman of Blu Blood share their insights about the event management industry in the UAE. This issue also includes insights from Sridhar Vembu, CEO of Zoho Corporation, on emerging AI tools, along with some advice for SMEs and startups.
Through this edition, we also bring you insights on topics like the UAE's steadfast dedication to sustainable growth and development, Dubai surpassing global and regional tourism recovery levels, the sports industry emerging as a promising sector magnetizing international investors, and many more key informational articles in the finance sector.
Keep yourself up to date with all financial sector news with our current news segments. Each person can find something unique from us. We believe our readers deserve real value from what we have to offer.
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Investing in Tourism<br />
tourists, but advertising and presenting it<br />
as a sustainable destination establishes a<br />
certain expectation. Organizing gatherings<br />
like the United Nations Framework<br />
Convention on Climate Change’s COP<strong>2023</strong><br />
(Conference of Parties) will help create<br />
this expectation. Working with hotels<br />
on value offerings for eco-conscious<br />
customers would also be beneficial.<br />
According to Phillips, the mission is to<br />
ensure that the hospitality partners get<br />
the most out of the inventory; “We’re<br />
talking about 50% five-star inventory.”<br />
Setting Key Performance Indicators<br />
(KPIs) and incentivizing partners with<br />
benefits such as tax offsets is the key to<br />
driving a higher average rate rather than<br />
focusing on volume business. “During<br />
Covid, we rebated 20% of the destination<br />
fee to help keep hotels afloat. Now we are<br />
adding that element into sustainability,<br />
rewarding hotels and businesses based on<br />
specific metrics being met,” Phillips said.<br />
Ras Al Khaimah has the benefit of being a<br />
growing destination, or what Phillips refers<br />
to as a “future destination.” This provides<br />
it the option to try something new. Ras Al<br />
Khaimah is actively guaranteeing a more<br />
sustainable future by spending around<br />
$140M in 20 projects that will adhere to<br />
these new sustainability requirements.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Emirate has four cultural and<br />
historical sites on the UNESCO Tentative<br />
<strong>World</strong> Heritage List, the most of any<br />
Emirates. It protects and repairs these<br />
cultural assets as part of its sustainability<br />
plan, providing interested visitors with an<br />
alternative to congested heritage sites.<br />
Suwaidi Pearls Farm, one of the few<br />
farms in the UAE still harvesting pearls<br />
by hand, and Al Jazirah Al Hamra, an old<br />
pearling town of the Al Zaab tribe, are<br />
already part of this effort. <strong>The</strong> Ministry<br />
of Culture and Tourism is collaborating<br />
with UNESCO specialists to reconstruct<br />
the village by 2025 using traditional,<br />
sustainable materials and to provide<br />
curated cultural tours.<br />
In addition, the tourism authority<br />
organises approximately 20 community<br />
events each year, including the RAK Fine<br />
Arts Festival, the RAK Half Marathon,<br />
and the DP <strong>World</strong> Tour. It also contains<br />
programmes that assist the community<br />
think more sustainably, such as its<br />
Buy RAK programme for low-carbon<br />
local suppliers, which negotiates direct<br />
transactions for local fisherman. A<br />
carbon-conscious event in December<br />
will give more knowledge.<br />
Tourism authority RAKFAM recognises<br />
the significance of employee well-being and<br />
has launched a number of programmes to<br />
improve staff connectedness, community<br />
life, and facilities. Thanks to innovative<br />
policies focusing on employee well-being,<br />
Great Place to Work named the tourist<br />
authority the sixth-best workplace for<br />
small and medium-sized businesses in<br />
the UAE for 2022.<br />
Ras Al Khaimah is pioneering this holistic<br />
approach to destination management not<br />
just because it’s the right thing to do, but<br />
it’s being demanded by its customers,<br />
Phillips said; “We know travellers prefer<br />
sustainable destinations.” Ras Al Khaimah<br />
is leading the way in pioneering a new<br />
approach to sustainable tourism as the<br />
globe shifts towards more sustainable<br />
kinds of tourism. <strong>The</strong> emirate has become<br />
an increasingly popular tourist destination<br />
owing to its rich culture and magnificent<br />
natural beauty, in addition to adopting a<br />
proactive approach to sustainability in<br />
recent years, developing a number of<br />
measures to guarantee that tourism to<br />
the region is performed in an ecologically<br />
responsible manner.<br />
Furthermore, announcing the update<br />
of holiday homes system this, the Ras Al<br />
Khaimah Tourism Development Authority<br />
(RAKTDA) stated it intends to “simplify<br />
the procedure for homeowners and<br />
operators to secure licences and turn<br />
their units into suitable holiday homes”.<br />
<strong>The</strong> upgrades are part of the emirate’s<br />
ongoing efforts to diversify and strengthen<br />
its current portfolio of four- and five-star<br />
hotels and resorts, as well as to drive a<br />
sustainable tourist economy that benefits<br />
its residents.<br />
<strong>The</strong> holiday homes system is an online<br />
registration gateway where owners and<br />
operators may register their residential units<br />
for short-term rentals. <strong>The</strong> technology will<br />
also allow owners and operators to plan<br />
inspection appointments for registered<br />
units and give a categorization service<br />
based on standard or luxury standards.<br />
This will provide simple and smooth<br />
compliance with Ras Al Khaimah’s<br />
vacation rental rules.<br />
116 www.thefinanceworld.com <strong>March</strong> <strong>2023</strong>