Economic diversification is the key to Dubai's success and the man behind this is none other than His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai which prompted the New York Times to name him the Entrepreneur of the Year.

"Shaikh Mohammad had realised years ago that Dubai's limited oil supply - which is expected to run out within the next decade - required the emirate to begin pulling in cash from other sources. So he began a series of bold initiatives intended to cultivate tourism and other sectors of the economy," the New York Times report said.

The report, narrating his achievements, said: "In 1985, Shaikh Mohammad personally started Emirates Airlines with $10 million and two planes. The airline has been profitable every year since 1986 and now operates about 100 planes serving more than 80 destinations around the world.

"A decade later he introduced the annual Dubai Shopping Festival. The month-long event - basically a citywide sale with some extravagant raffles - now draws some three million attendees every winter and earns Dubai shops more than $1 billion."

Oil, which made up about half the country's revenues two decades ago, now accounts for about five per cent. The gross domestic product has grown more than 400 per cent in a little more than 10 years.

"He is definitely the most successful business case about how travel and tourism can transform a country," said Jean-Claude Baumgarten, president of the London-based World Travel and Tourism Council. "I don't know any better example in the world."