The Hub Report

How does Dubai compare to other global hubs?

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The Knight Frank Hub Report focuses on benchmarking Dubai against seven other key global cities of New York, London, Paris, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Sydney across the four key sectors of hospitality, offices, residential and industrial sectors.

Dubai’s status as a global hub continues to strengthen given its extensive connectivity, strong economic prospects, low tax system and safe haven status which are all underpinned by world class amenities and infrastructure.

Tourism

Dubai International Airport, the world’s largest airport by international traffic, recorded 83.7 million passengers in 2017, up 26% from 2014. The total number of hotel room keys per person is significantly higher at 29.9 per 1,000 people in Dubai, compared to our selected hub cities.

Manufacturing and logistics

The UAE’s quality of overall transport infrastructure is ranked 3rd best in the world. Dubai’s industry growth rate forecast of 57% is expected to outpace those of our selected cities.

Financial and Business Services

The domestic financial and business services sector grew 55.6% in the last decade with only Shanghai (114.3%) outperforming Dubai. The Dubai International Financial Centre has recently been ranked among top 10 global financial centres in The Banker’s International Financial Centre rankings.

Residential - Property Sector

Dubai remains relatively affordable, In Dubai US$1m can get you 138 square metres of prime property, compared to 19 in Hong Kong, 25 in New York and 28 in London. Dubai has remained attractive to investors and occupiers alike, in the 18 months to June 2017, 217 nationalities purchased real estate in Dubai.