Visitors planning to spend their holiday in Dubai should be aware of the general history of its economy as a part of basic travel information. This is necessary in order for them to anticipate the services and products offered by the city considering the fact that economy affects the overall underlying state and backdrop of Dubai itself.

First of all, within the first half of the century, Dubai became well known for exporting pearls to other countries. Eventually, oil reserves were discovered in Dubai, but unlike its fellow neighboring emirates, such as Abu Dhabi, only a very small amount of the income of Dubai relies on its own oil industry. Furthermore, Dubai along with Deira became key ports for manufacturers from the west. As an effect, many of the establishments for banking and finance were built within the area of the ports.

Moving on, Dubai continued to stand as a key trade route from 1970 to 1980, and in turn, western products have freely entered its economy. Furthermore, from that time on up to the 1990’s, the city engaged in free trading, with gold as the chief product, with neighboring emirates and other countries as well.

Nowadays, Dubai is developed to become a place of large-scale tourism and a port for trade. In addition to this, Dubai also progresses as a major hub for industries concerning Information Technology and finance. Major companies which Dubai has affiliated itself with include IBM, Microsoft, EMC, and Oracle Corporation. Lastly, free zones for the said industries were also formed by its government.