United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia are increasing their non-oil activities to diversify the economy to avoid having another energy crisis like the one in 2015. In the Middle East region, the oil and gas industry are the main source of income and, as a result, for years, investment has only been directed towards fertilizer plants or refineries, as has been the case in the UAE.
The fragmentation of the region due to high debt levels in some countries will lead to economic decline, the IMF predicts in its April 2023 Regional Economic Outlook. After Kuwait, UAE and Saudi Arabia made large profits in 2022 because of the gas supply cut-off in Europe due to the war in Ukraine, demand has now been reduced by high oil prices. The Gulf States are therefore looking to position themselves in the tourism, industrial, transport and sustainable energy sectors to reduce their dependence on oil and gas, although they are expected to save an average of 33% of their oil revenues in the period 2022 to 2026.
The large investments it is making in the tourism sector offer numerous opportunities for Spanish companies, which enjoy a good reputation for their development and management of quality tourism.
Qatar is also changing its gas-dependent economy, using the 2022 World Cup as a showcase to boost its tourism sector and showcase its Cultural openness, as the UAE did some time ago.