Interestingly, Dubai has actually reclaimed a few islands offshore and built them up with a massive amount of sand. The island, Palm Jumeirah, is a palm-tree-shaped island and Dubai has made a claim that it is actually the eighth wonder of the world. Believe it or not, the islands were built up with enough sand to fill 2 and a half Empire State Buildings.
There are two more islands, Jebel Ali and Deira, which are in various stages of development. Currently, Palm Jumeirah houses 30 hotels and resorts. Additionally, yachts and speedboats can be rented for private tours around the islands. Talk about an island in the sun!
Dubai’s Airport is a Huge Source of Income
The airport in Dubai contributes around $22 billion per year to the UAE GDP. Amazingly, oil only constitutes 2% of Dubai’s revenue. The bulk of the money coming into Dubai comes from the transportation, commerce, trading, financial service, retail, and tourism industries.
Due to the high amount of revenue that comes from tourism, it may not actually be so surprising that so much money comes from the airport in Dubai. Dubai International Airport employs over 90,000 people and holds over 400,000 jobs. It is actually the busiest international airport in the world and the airport with the highest number of passengers per flight. It even has the largest airport terminal in the world, Terminal 3.
Largest Indoor Ski Park
As you might remember, the mall in Dubai is famous for its extravagance and grandeur. Not only is the mall home to countless shops and restaurants, but it also features Ski Dubai. This indoor ski resort is the largest in the world, measuring in at 22,500 meters.
It’s pretty amazing to think about an indoor ski resort. This park is filled with snow and covers an area of 3,000 square meters. Furthermore, the resort has some incredible features including an 85-meter-high indoor mountain containing 5 slopes, which change in intensity, steepness, and difficulty level. Some of these slopes include a 400-meter long run, an indoor black diamond run which is actually the only indoor black diamond run to exist.
Dubai Has 400 Skyscrapers
In 1991, the World Trade Center was the only skyscraper to exist in Dubai. However, a lot has changed since then and a lot of construction has occurred.
Currently, Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai is known as Skyscraper Avenue. Both sides of the long street are lined by tall, amazing feats of architecture. One of these buildings is Burj Dubai, which is the tallest building in the world. It’s hard to imagine how many buildings there will be 20 years from now.
There is a Massive Amount of Oil Produced in Dubai
Enough oil is produced in the city of Dubai to fill 4 and a half Olympic-sized swimming pools per day! That’s about 50,000 to 70,000 barrels worth of oil or 11,000 ml. However, oil isn’t even the main source of income in Dubai.
In 1991, Dubai produced 400,000 barrels of oil every day. Though you might suspect oil was the major source of income in Dubai, it is actually quite a small percentage of the GDP. The main source of income in Dubai currently is tourism and real estate. That’s not actually so surprising considering all of the incredible attractions being built constantly in the city every day.