The UAE’s capital is in full diversification mode, stacking sports, culture and high-end hospitality alongside its oil wealth – and enjoying a #2 ranking for Labor Force Participation and #12 for Standard of Living. On Hudayriyat Island, Surf Abu Dhabi, the world’s largest artificial wave pool, opened in late 2024. Kelly Slater’s 755-yard-long, 21-million-gallon seawater tank already hosted the first-ever Middle East stop on the World Surf League Championship Tour. Bigger than the wave was the announcement of a new Disney theme park resort coming to Yas Island. And then there’s the new Schengen-style GCC Unified Tourism Visa, allowing free movement across the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia under a single entry permit. Game-changing for a city within a four-hour flight of one-third of the world’s population. Liftoff: end of 2025.
Urban investment stretches across the mainland and islands. The Saadiyat Cultural District is nearing a 2026 crescendo with the Zayed National Museum, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi all in advanced stages. In 2025, new hotel and real estate offerings, from the Mandarin Oriental Residences to boutique resorts on Nurai Island, are adding more than 1,700 keys. Real estate remains active, with prime waterfront selling out phases in days, buoyed by robust foreign investment incentives.