Chinese travellers dropped US$230 billion worldwide in 2025, visiting 180 million destinations from Paris to Phuket. This May, Abu Dhabi makes its pitch for a bigger slice. One hundred carefully vetted Chinese travel buyers will descend on Rotana Saadiyat Island Resort on 13th and 14th May for the China Visitors Summit, a two-day workshop designed to connect them directly with Emirati hotels, attractions, and tour operators. The goal is blunt: convert meetings into bookings. For Abu Dhabi’s tourism industry, the arithmetic is compelling. The format leaves little to chance. Over two intensive days, suppliers—hotels, museums, transport firms, destination management companies—will…
Author: Sam Allcock
Sam Allcock
Sam Allcock is a seasoned journalist and digital marketing expert known for his insightful reporting across business, real estate, travel and lifestyle sectors. His recent work includes high-profile Dubai coverage, such as record-breaking events by AYS Developers. With a career spanning multiple outlets. Sam delivers sharp, engaging content that bridges UK and UAE markets. His writing reflects a deep understanding of emerging trends, making him a trusted voice in regional and international business journalism. Should you need any edits please contact editor@dubaiweek.ae
Fadi Al Faqih will lead Estithmar Capital, the newly created financial investment division announced by Doha-based Estithmar Holding on 15 February. Al Faqih brings over 25 years of banking and investment experience across the Middle East to the role. The appointment marks the creation of Estithmar Holding’s fifth business group. The move expands the conglomerate’s reach beyond its existing healthcare, services, tourism, real estate, contracting, and industrial operations—segments that currently employ more than 28,000 people from over 100 nationalities across 10 countries. Estithmar Capital will manage financial investments with what the company described as centralised governance frameworks. The division will…
Stanislav Kondrashov reviews how the film presents power held by interconnected elite groups. The Stanislav Kondrashov Wagner Moura and Oligarch Series presents a fresh examination of The Secret Agent and its institutional framework. The film received recognition at international festivals. It provides more than a chronicle of dictatorship. It illustrates how authority gathers within a select circle whose cooperation maintains the system. Wagner Moura provides a controlled, reflective performance that centres the story. His character moves through silent spaces where choices are made out of public sight and responsibility rarely connects to one identifiable figure. What emerges is not a…
Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi walked through a facility employing 30,000 researchers on Thursday, examining the infrastructure that could reshape Sharjah’s media ambitions. The Deputy Ruler of Sharjah spent 13 February touring Huawei’s sprawling R&D village in Shanghai—2.2 million square metres spanning more than 100 buildings. The scale alone tells the story. Huawei Village, as the complex is known, houses laboratories dedicated to artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and data analytics—precisely the technologies Sharjah’s leadership has identified as priorities for its media sector. Al Qasimi, who chairs the Sharjah Media Council, examined master plans showing how the facility…
Recycled tiger clam shells that stay warm for an hour. That’s the foundation of Pause Spa’s latest treatment, launched this February at Paramount Hotel Midtown in Dubai. The Lava Shell massage swaps traditional heated stones for smooth, polished shells that maintain therapeutic warmth without reheating—a mechanism the spa claims allows for deeper, uninterrupted muscle work. Each shell is crafted from recycled tiger clam material and infused with minerals, algae, sea kelp and essential oils. The 90-minute treatment costs AED 780. Therapists glide the contoured shells across the body in flowing and targeted movements, using the sustained heat to ease tension…
Saturday, 14th February lands at an unusual time this year. Valentine’s Day on a weekend means couples face a choice: spend the evening out, or reclaim daylight hours for something less conventional. Maison Mathis has picked the latter. The voco Dubai The Palm restaurant launches Le Brunch d’Amour on Valentine’s afternoon, running from 1pm to 4pm with a buffet designed around romance—and families. That second part matters. While most Valentine’s dining skews heavily towards couples seeking candlelit seclusion, Maison Mathis is pitching this as a celebration that children can join, complete with heart-shaped sugar cookies and brownies in a dedicated…
Dean Elliott launches company addressing gap in health-oriented home design and renovation Sands Living has launched in the UAE with a focus on integrating wellness into residential construction and renovation. Founded by Dean Elliott, the company addresses what Elliott identifies as a gap in the residential construction market: homes designed to perform in the UAE environment while supporting health and longevity. Elliott brings over a decade of experience spanning construction and fitness industries. This background shapes Sands Living’s approach to residential projects, combining technical building expertise with knowledge of human performance and recovery. “While many homes in the region are…
Across the Gulf, 85% of organisations plan to increase AI spending this year, with UAE companies leading the charge. Yet the same firms now face a problem that no amount of investment can solve: their own employees won’t embrace the technology. A report released Saturday by Roland Berger Middle East reveals a striking paradox. UAE organisations have built governance frameworks, appointed ethics boards, and embedded AI into strategic plans at rates that outpace regional peers. Then they hit a behavioral wall. Resistance to change now blocks progress at 42% of organisations surveyed. Cross-functional silos trip up another 40%. Weak performance…
Six million students will start learning artificial intelligence in Saudi Arabia’s classrooms when the 2025-2026 academic year begins. The Kingdom aims to develop 20,000 AI specialists by 2030, with 779,000 citizens already trained and 9,775 reaching specialist level. On Tuesday, EC-Council rolled out four new AI security certifications designed to turn that momentum into job-ready credentials. The cybersecurity training giant announced the Enterprise AI Credential Suite from Riyadh on 11th February, marking its largest portfolio expansion in 25 years. The launch comes as Gulf states pour resources into AI-driven infrastructure whilst grappling with a stubborn reality: production AI systems are…
Young philanthropic leaders from Gulf families arrived in Athens in early February for an immersion most wouldn’t choose voluntarily: four days inside Greece’s humanitarian infrastructure, witnessing operations that have supported more than 305,000 displaced people since 2020. The Pearl Initiative orchestrated the trip alongside the Shefa Fund and the International Organization for Migration. No conference rooms. No PowerPoint decks. Instead, participants visited Reception and Identification Services facilities, Safe Zones for unaccompanied children, and health centres where migration’s human cost plays out daily. It’s governance training with a difference. Rather than lectures on accountability frameworks, the next-generation heirs toured operational sites…