Tourism Overview:Although the final data for Dubai, which should be reasonably strong, has yet to be release, the tourism sector in the UAE looks to have achieved another good year in 2011, after a strong recovery in 2010. In Abu Dhabi, complete figures for 2011 show a robust annual increase in the number of tourists (including UAE arrivals) at hotels and hotel apartments of 16.6% year-on-year (y-o-y), to over 2.1mn guests, despite a fall in arrivals y-o-y in August. The outturn was well ahead of the 2mn-guest target set by the authorities. In Sharjah, final data for 2011 show tourist arrivals (including UAE nationals) at hotels and hotel apartments reached over 1.56mn, a slight increase of 0.4% y-o-y. In Dubai, data for January- September 2011 showed a healthy 11% y-o-y increase in hotel guests (including UAE residents) to 6.64mn. There were no more recent figures at the time of writing.Hospitality:Despite incomplete data for Dubai, there was still impressive growth in the hospitality sector in 2011. In Abu Dhabi, the sector recorded a strong performance, with total guest nights increasing by 22% y-o-y to 6.3mn nights. Occupancy levels during the year were up by 7% y-o-y to 69%, while the average length of stay rose by 5% to about three nights. Hotel and hotel apartment revenue was up by a modest 3% y-o-y to around AED4.4bn (US$1.2bn), while the average room rate fell by 14% to AED490 (US$133), which improved competitiveness. Sharjah achieved solid results in terms of the number of hotel and hotel apartment room nights sold during 2011, with a total of over 1.8mn, an increase of over 17% y-o-y. This was presumably due to guests staying longer, as there was little growth in the number of visitors. The overall occupancy rate of hotels and hotel apartments edged up to 74%. In Dubai, there was a 26% y-o-y increase in the number of guest nights at hotels in 9M11 to about 23.7mn.Forecast Scenario:After strong growth in the tourism sector in 2010 and 2011, we maintain t

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This is a PDF report.

This is a PDF report.

BMI View: Clean coal, nuclear and renewables all form part of the long-term energy plan, although it would be a surprise to see the UAE having operational reactors during the current decade. The emirates appreciate the need to cap oil and gas use in power generation, so new clean coal technology is to be used over the medium term. There is growing momentum behind the use of renewables, with international backing being sought for ambitious programmes.It has been estimated that the UAE?s electricity sector will require at least US$8bn in investment over the next six to eight years in order to meet growing demand, and the government has plans to expand installed capacity by more than 50% during the current decade.Key trends and recent developments in the UAE electricity market include:- During the 2012-2021 period, the UAE?s overall power generation is expected to increase by an annual average of 5.18%, reaching 137.2TWh. Driving this growth is an annual 4.79% gain in gas-fired and a 0.86% rise in oil-fired generation, accompanied by rapid growth in renewablesbased electricity supply, albeit from a very low base. It is assumed that nuclear generation will be available from 2021.- The UAE has reconfirmed its renewable energy aspirations, revealing that the government aims to boost investment in clean energy technology over the next five years and attract AED367bn (US$100bn) of investment in alternative and sustainable energy projects by 2020.- Under its Integrated Energy Strategy 2030, Dubai plans to reduce energy imports and CO2 emissions by 30% between now and 2030, using domestic solar power and nuclear power imported from neighbouring Abu Dhabi to reduce its reliance on gas. With diversification in mind, the emirate?s Supreme Council of Energy in late 2011 launched the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, with a view to set up 10MW of installed capacity by 2013, and eventually 1GW by 2030.- Following an increase in 2011 real GDP of an assumed 3.33%