Gulf Briefing

Gulf residents are turning to staycations in record numbers as regional geopolitical tensions and rising international travel costs make domestic options more attractive, while UAE five-star hotels offer summer packages at prices that would have been unimaginable a year ago.

Kuwait and Oman each posted GDP growth of between 2.6 and 2.9 per cent, with both countries implementing accelerated economic diversification strategies — including Kuwait's fuel reserve expansion and Oman's utility-scale solar-plus-storage projects — to reduce dependence on hydrocarbon revenues.

Dubai's property market recorded Dh176.7 billion in total sales in Q1 2026, across nearly 48,000 transactions, in a performance that underlines why real estate...

The Middle East closed the first quarter of 2026 with a record hospitality development pipeline of 717 projects totalling 177,110 rooms — up 12 per cent year-on-year — led by Saudi Arabia's giga-project portfolio as UAE hotel demand softens amid regional tensions.

In a world where news travels instantly and uncertainty spreads faster than reassurance, Dubai's position as a globally safe, stable and welcoming city deserves...

The UAE's 10-year Golden Visa now covers an expanded list of eligible categories including content creators, gamers, nurses, superyacht owners, researchers, athletes, and humanitarians, while a new mandatory AI-assisted health screening process takes effect from July 1, 2026.

Abu Dhabi has spent the past two decades building one of the most ambitious cultural infrastructure programmes ever undertaken by a single city. The...

The UAE's 2026 federal budget stands at AED 92.4 billion — up 29 per cent from 2025 — as non-oil GDP grew 6.8 per cent and total non-oil foreign trade crossed $1 trillion for the first time in the country's history.

Private sector companies in the UAE with 50 or more employees face a June 30 deadline to achieve a 1 per cent semi-annual growth in Emiratisation within skilled roles, as the government accelerates its workforce nationalisation drive alongside 7,842 new federal vacancies.

Kuwait City does not often top travel wish lists. Sandwiched between Saudi Arabia and Iraq, with a coastline on the Gulf and a skyline...

Saudi Arabia has launched the third and final phase of Vision 2030 with its GDP exceeding $1.31 trillion and non-oil activities accounting for 55 per cent of the economy, while tourism has surpassed its original 100 million visitor target three years ahead of schedule.

Bahrain rarely makes headlines for the right reasons. The smallest of the six GCC states, at just 765 square kilometres, smaller than Singapore, is...