Dubai is world's fastest growing city and hottest real estate market

Just finished reading an article that describes Dubai's exponential growth, both in terms of its real estate appreciation and the sheer number of people relocating to the city.

Dubai's growth can be traced back to May 2002, when Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum issued a decree that, for the first time ever, allowed foreigners to buy and sell property. This decree was issued to reduce Dubai's economic dependence on oil. Since May 2002, the nation has experienced incredible property appreciation and economic growth. Investors are attracted to Dubai because of the country's stable political environment, zero property and income tax, and its high standard of living.

Currently, Dubai is in the midst of a development boom; it's being designed to attract and accomodate 15 million visitors a year from 2010 onwards. This breaks down to roughly 200,000 visitors a day. The following points illustrate the economic growth and real estate development occuring in Dubai…

• Dubai is the world's number one emerging real estate market; an estimated $80 billion of real estate projects are currently underway including five-star condo hotels, a collection of six ultra-modern theme parks, 200 entertainment projects, and a tourism venue nearly three times the size of all of Walt Disney World in Orlando.
• Dubai has zero property tax and zero income tax. It is the fastest growing city on the planet.
• Dubai is a gateway to over 1.5 billion consumers and is located at the cross-roads of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
• Dubai is home to the only seven-star hotel in the world (Burj Al-Arab), the tallest tower in the world (Burj Dubai), the largest shopping mall in the world (Mall of Arabia), and the two largest manmade islands (Palms Jebel Ali, which is complete with resorts and entertainment venues, located just off Dubai's coast).
• Dubai has the highest hotel occupancy rate in the world. In 2005, it was 86% and has been steadily climbing.
• Dubai has the highest revenue per hotel room in the world, beating out world-class cities such as New York and Paris.
• Over the past 10 years, the number of visitors to Dubai has grown from 1.08 million to 5.4 million, representing an annual growth rate of 16%. This number is more than triple the world tourism growth rate over the same period.
• In the last five years, Dubai has experienced a 54% increase in the number of tourists.