A good area to invest is not always the one that secures you highest income on investment in favorable times , not the one which promises to keep you growing with it without any framework to do the same, it is one that is solid to external factors and has enough resource planning and skillful thinking to maintain its backbone even in the deadliest of the storms and takes you up the ladder in better times without letting you fall from it in bad days. The recession of 2008-2009 saw most of the economies of the world topple like a tower of cards devastated by a gust of wind.
The economy of Dubai too did rattle , but it had enough in it to revert the recession and come up with alternate economies to help the city survive the much dreaded deflation. There were reports that the slump hit the city so bad that the prices of real estate dwindled by nearly 50 percent and there were hilarious yet scary instances of people leaving their villa, disowning their Porshe’s, Landrovers and fleeing Dubai as they were afraid to pay the amounts they had taken to support their luxurious lifestyles.
But the government had backup plans, when real estate crashed they relied on tourism ,which really was their savior in those years and lead to maximum occupancy in hotels which in turn promoted growth of real estate. This cycle of dependency is necessary for any economy to survive and thrive as, there is no sure formula of one particular sector doing good all the time, and in those times the other sectors should manage to support the economy. Good economies are results of wise decisions. One such extraordinary decision was taken by the President of UAE to help the completion of Burj Dubai(then) ,the tallest skyscraper in the world. With this decision the tourism of Dubai has grown to great heights as every traveler has the desire to have a glimpse of this exceptional modernist architectural masterpiece.
Now Dubai and rest of the world have mostly recovered from the shock and effects of the then hit recession, but where most of the economies are still slow in picking up, and are not putting any ambitious projects on their cards-includes the biggies US and Europe, surprisingly or rather not so surprisingly economic growth of this emirate has hit 4.4 % in the past year which is higher than its growth pre depression period in 2006. This clearly shows the robustness of the economy ,as even after such a drubbing of finances over the globe it manages to overcome the shadow of frustration, fear, destruction, silent death and shown to the world that it is the Zenith of success, happiness, security, prosperity and growth which the economy of Dubai always strives for and where its economy is always meant to be.
All said and done, the ones who left their Porshe and Landrovers and their suite houses for fear of bankruptcy, should have had more trust in the backbone of Dubai’s economy. I wonder who rides them now?
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