Author: Emirates Insight

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the UAE’s tourism and travel sector contributed AED257.3bn ($70bn) to the national economy in 2024, accounting for 13 per cent of GDP. International tourist spending is forecast to grow 5.2 per cent this year to AED228.5bn ($62.2bn), while domestic spending is expected to rise 4.3 per cent to AED60bn ($16.3bn). UAE tourism sector turns to AI Industry experts say the UAE’s adoption of smart technologies—ranging from mobile check-in and AI-driven personalisation to cloud platforms and real-time data insights—is transforming how visitors experience the country. These advances also support environmental goals by reducing…

Social engineering scams have proved to be one of the damaging attack vectors in crypto, which are capable of bypassing technical defenses and draining platforms or users of staggering sums. In the latest development, a victim lost 783 Bitcoin, worth approximately $91 million, in such an attack. Hackers Impersonate Wallet Support Prominent on-chain investigator ZachXBT reported that the attackers impersonated both exchange and hardware wallet customer support. Blockchain data shows the thief has already laundered the stolen funds through the privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet Wasabi. The incident coincidentally occurred on the one-year anniversary of the $243 million Genesis Creditor theft. ZachXBT…

Expand North Star, the world’s largest event for startups and investors, will celebrate its 10th edition from October 12-15 at Dubai Harbour — after last year welcoming 65 unicorn companies with a combined market value exceeding $400bn. Organised by Dubai World Trade Centre and hosted by the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, the event marks a decade of advancing the emirate’s position as a global capital of the digital economy and a top destination for innovators, investors, and pioneering tech enterprises, in line with the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33). Since its launch in 2016, Expand North Star has seen explosive…

[PRESS RELEASE – Dubai, UAE, August 23rd, 2025] Pepeto ($PEPETO) is wrapping up Stage 10 of its presale, with overall investment now surpassing $6.28 million and millions of tokens sold. With Stage 10 now active, Pepeto has already sold a significant portion of its presale allocation. Pepeto’s Growth Overview Several key factors are fueling Pepeto’s milestone presale: Ethereum-Based Foundation : Built on Ethereum, Pepeto benefits from the security and recognition of the network while introducing unique utilities. Viral Community Engagement : Over 100,000 active followers across socials continue to amplify Pepeto’s story, making it one of the most discussed presales of 2025. Dual Security Audits :…

Yeezy money is here. It’s real. Better known as “YZY Meme coin,”  Kanye West, now known simply as Ye, launched his YZY token on Solana, sparking immediate frenzy. Within just 40 minutes of release, the coin’s market cap ballooned to $3 billion, before tumbling back to $1.05 billion, according to Nansen data. There’s only one other celebrity with that kind of MCAP for a cryptocurrency and it’s TRUMP. As big as Ye is, many are starting to believe there’s no room to make money here. (YZYUSDT) On X, Ye promoted the token as part of “Yeezy Money,” which he described…

The Trump administration said on Thursday it is subjecting all holders of valid US visas – more than 55 million people worldwide – to continuous checks that could trigger visa revocations and removals if new information suggests they are ineligible to enter or remain in the country. The State Department told The Associated Press that the programme amounts to “continuous vetting” of visa holders. Indicators that could prompt action include overstaying authorised periods, criminal activity, threats to public safety and involvement in or support for terrorism. If a visa is cancelled while the holder is in the United States, the…

This week, crypto has experienced many ups and downs. BTC ▲2.82%, ETH ▲11.55%, and BNB ▲5.13% hit their all-time highs, with Ethereum ETF inflows peaking. Bitcoin peaked at $124k early in the week, then went down sharply after the unexpected PPI data was released. It dipped to $115k by midweek, before testing the $110k support. Ethereum also dropped to $4,000 at the start of the week, preceding its all-time high of $4,890 on the weekend. Crypto market cap hovered at $4 trillion, with XRP ▲8.49% slipping below $3 on Wednesday. LINK ▲5.35% gained 25% on the ICE partnership to $26…

A genuine revolution in what meal plans can do for youLike it or not, we’re prompt-deep in humanity’s quick fix era. You can get almost anything your ickle fickle heart desires, delivered straight to your door within a matter of hours through the ever-growing community of eCommerce apps.You can command AI to read and write your emails for you; use algorithms to find your life partner; binge on a physically unwatchable volume of on-demand cinematic content; and the route to achieving that ‘no sucking in’ beach body has been made infinitely more achievable (if not always accessible) through the use…

From Dubai’s $17.3bn property boom to Ras Al Khaimah’s rising skyline and Saudi Arabia’s digital ID property ownership move, the region is reshaping key sectors at speed. Catch up with 10 of the biggest stories this week, as selected by Arabian Business editors. Railbus is a start-up company that creates the first 100 per cent solar-powered mass transportation system. Image: RAILBUS Railbus’ crucial development hub in Dubai Silicon Oasis to be ready by May 2026 Railbus, a leading player in solar-powered, autonomous, and elevated transit systems, said it has made major progress on its new engineering and development hub at…

SharpLink Gaming has approved a $1.5 billion stock buyback aimed at supporting its Ethereum treasury. The idea is straightforward. If the company’s stock starts trading below the value of the Ether it holds, they’ll begin to buy back shares to increase the ETH-per-share ratio and protect long-term holders. Buybacks Prompted by ETH-Price Dynamics Co-CEO Joseph Chalom explained that issuing more shares while the stock is trading below the value of the company’s Ethereum reserves would dilute shareholder value. So rather than sit on their hands, SharpLink now has a tool to act if market conditions turn favorable. Ethereum Treasury SharpLink…