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The United Arab Emirates

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The United Arab Emirates has achieved great success in developing its hospitality industry and its general economy. The country however is faced with a big challenge of having its local citizens work and feel part of the growing hospitality industry. The biggest part of the problem is that while the hospitality industry should be a social institution that is embedded into the culture of the host country, it is not viewed as such and there are various reasons for that. The current situation is quite worrisome, because the expatriates who make up the biggest percentage of the Emiratis are also the majority of workers in the industry, holding about 91% of all jobs in the public sector. Trying to make the hospitality industry acceptable to the …show more content…

Integrating the Islamic principles into the industry would entail having hotels and other tourist attractions that comply with the Islamic law, the same way it is done in Kuwait. Such compliance includes having uniforms and dress codes for the staff, serving only foods acceptable in Islam, and having prayer rooms available. This would especially attract tourists who travel to experience the culture and appreciate the local lifestyle. Among all the Gulf States, the UAE is arguably the most dependent on expatriate labor. The majority of the people in the UAE are expatriates who hold most of the jobs while a significant number of Emiratis remain unemployed. One of the key problems for the variation is the lack of confidence to compete with the expatriates. Requirements for limited commitment to religious and cultural practices at the expense of a job as well as the irregular working hours has made many Emiratis shy away from working in the industry. There have been programs initiated by the government to Emiratize the industry by motivating nationals to pursue careers in hospitality. Other than the Emiratization of locals, there should be a shift from the traditionally required hard skills to the now required soft skills. To succeed in the hospitality industry, one would require one to have better presentation and interpersonal skills. In coming up with ways to Emiratize the locals, there needs to be a change

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