The affirmation was given by the Society of Incentive and Travel Executives (SITE) in its recent report of the most popular destinations in the world for companies organising overseas meetings and incentive travel. The group is a not-for-profit, international professional association devoted to the pursuit of excellence in incentives, a multi-billion dollar global industry.

The endorsement came in the light of the 8th Global Travel and Tourism Summit, which was held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The summit is a platform for leading businessmen and decision makers from around the world to discuss latest trends in the travel and tourism sector.

The selection of Dubai as the venue of this summit only confirms the major strides that the emirate has taken in travel and tourism, making HH Sheikh Mohammed’s vision and policy direction of the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 a forthcoming realization.

Experts have pointed out that Dubai is a top choice for investors and businesses to set up operations as it offers to be a major gateway to regions such as the Middle East, Africa, South and Central Asia.

In fact, in the past five years, more than a quarter of Fortune 500 firms have made Dubai their regional hub due to its excellent infrastructure and business environment.

Dubai's leadership is continuously working towards this goal of growth as a regional business hub. The Dubai Strategic Plan 2015, which was unveiled in February last year by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed envisions Dubai as a model for economic diversification for the region's oil-rich countries, emphasizing on investment in non-oil and gas sectors.