His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai has a vision of Dubai becoming the most attractive place on Earth by 2010, one that will attract 15 million visitors a year. To ensure that this vision becomes reality, the royal family in the Arabian Gulf emirate has launched tremendous construction projects unrivaled anywhere in the world.

The popular flagship of the construction boom is the sail-shaped Burj al Arab: At a height of 321 meters, it is one of the world’s tallest hotels – and also one of the most luxurious. Some more recent construction projects make it seem modest by comparison, however. Dubai is where artificial islands have been built in the sea, record-breaking skyscrapers have risen into the heavens, and an entire Health Care City with more than 300 hospitals is being realized. “Dubailand,” the emirate’s giant amusement park, has a 400-meter indoor skiing slope. No undertaking in Dubai is too over the top to convince sponsors and investors. Dubai is now preparing itself for a future without oil — with the country becoming the world’s most exclusive tourist destination.