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  • Emirates NBD

UAE’s First Transition Finance Framework by Emirates NBD Opens New Funding Route for Carbon-Heavy Industries

UAE’s first transition finance framework has arrived, and it changes how carbon-heavy companies in the country can access funding for their shift

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$6B on Food in Turkiye
  • Tourism

Tourists spent close to $6B on food in Turkiye in the first six months of 2026, and dining now stands as the largest single category of visitor spending in the country. Figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute, known as TurkStat, put food and drink spending at $5.9 billion between January and June. That total ran about 9% above the $5.43 billion recorded over the same stretch a year earlier.

The wider picture helps explain why this number matters. Türkiye tourism revenue 2026 reached $25.75 billion across the first half, and food carried a larger share of that figure than any other category. The pattern fits a longer shift in how the country earns from travel. Visitors are spending more at the table, and regional cuisine has become a direct source of income rather than a background detail.

Why food leads $6B in Turkiye

Turkey food and beverage spending climbed as travelers worked through a broad menu of local dishes. Doner, pide, lahmacun and home-style cooking drew steady demand across different parts of the country. Each region offers its own version of these staples, which gives repeat visitors a reason to keep eating out.

The rise in dining revenue tracks the amount visitors put toward regional food while traveling. TurkStat tourism data shows the category holding its lead through the period, a sign that culinary interest is now a fixed part of the trip for many arrivals rather than an occasional expense.

Shopping follows food in visitor spending

Retail took the next large share of tourist spending in Turkey. International visitors spent roughly $2.2 billion on clothing and footwear during the first half of the year. Souvenir purchases brought in a further $890.2 million over the same window.

Together, clothing and souvenirs added about $3.1 billion to the total. That places shopping well behind dining but ahead of the smaller categories, and it points to a spending mix weighted toward food and personal goods.

Smaller categories round out the total

Some categories stayed below the billion-dollar mark. Revenue from sports, education and cultural activities came to nearly $249 million between January and June. Spending grouped under other categories added about $618 million to Türkiye tourism income in the first half.

The gap between these figures and the near $6B on food in Turkiye shows how concentrated visitor spending has become. Dining alone accounts for close to a quarter of the country’s total tourism revenue for the period. For a sector that once leaned on accommodation and sightseeing, the strength in food marks a real change in where the money lands. The trend also gives regional restaurants and local producers a steady flow of foreign currency, tying the wider tourism economy more closely to what visitors choose to eat.

  • 3 min read
Abu Dhabi's Disneyland business impact
  • Business

Abu Dhabi’s Disneyland business impact will reach far past the park gates, and the whole Gulf is watching. Disney plans to open its first Middle East park on Yas Island in the early 2030s. Six years is a long runway. Yet developers, hoteliers and property owners are already lining up for what comes next.

The region’s attractions industry runs at roughly $19 billion, and Disney lands as the anchor everyone else builds around. Picture a shopping mall. One big-name store pulls the crowd, and the smaller shops nearby live off the overflow. That is the bet behind Abu Dhabi’s Disneyland business impact right now.

Why care about a 2030s opening today? Because the money moves first. Land deals, hotel plans and hiring pipelines take shape years ahead of a ribbon cutting.

One park, a full regional pull

Mike Rigby, regional vice president and director of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, sees room for everyone. Parks will compete at times, he said, but the pie can still grow for all of them. It is not a zero-sum game.

The other parks in the GCC will likely serve a more regional set of tourists, Rigby said, with Disney the anchor. “I think the GCC, the Mena region as a whole, is coming to the point where we can go for two weeks to the Middle East, and there is plenty to do,” he said.

Disney carries the brand and the gravity. Rivals across the Gulf are moving too. Saudi Arabia is building Qiddiya, an entire theme park city. Bahrain has set its sights on the Six Flags brand. Qatar is lining its coast with large waterparks. Rigby likened the emerging cluster to Orlando, where visitors hop between attractions over several days. That kind of spread is what could push Abu Dhabi tourism into a longer, multi-stop trip.

When the park was announced last year, Disney chief Bob Iger called the emirate the crossroads of the world. He pointed to half a billion potential customers within a four-hour flight. No firm Disneyland Abu Dhabi opening date exists yet, though the company has pointed to the early 2030s.

Abu Dhabi’s Disneyland business impact on homes and jobs

The clearest signal so far shows up in housing. On Yas Island, the annual rent for a one-bedroom apartment climbed from AED55,000, about $15,000, in 2023 to AED92,000 this year. That is a 67 percent jump, according to government figures. Authorities stepped in with a rental freeze earlier this year to cool prices. Yas Island real estate has become a live test of how fast one project can move a market.

Work follows the walls going up. Beyond the rides, the project could create more than 30,000 Disneyland Abu Dhabi jobs across construction, operations and tourism services, according to estimates from staffing group TASC. The roles would span hospitality, retail, food service and ride operations, the kind of work that keeps hiring long after opening day.

What comes next for the region

Domestic visitors give the sector a cushion. Regional conflict can dent arrivals, Rigby said, but many attractions here target local families who still need things to do. People stay, and they keep spending.

Aldar, Abu Dhabi’s government-owned developer, told AGBI last year it expects to gain from the park. Entertainment can anchor the real estate, the population and the hospitality around it, Rigby said, and the rest tends to follow. The full Abu Dhabi Disneyland business impact will take years to land. The groundwork is being laid today.

  • 3 min read
Brookfield Middle East Partners fund
  • Saudi Arabia

The Brookfield Middle East Partners fund reached its first close with $500 million of Brookfield’s own money committed alongside its partners. That figure says something before any strategy deck does. A manager willing to place half a billion dollars next to its investors is telling you where it believes the returns sit. In total, the vehicle raised close to $2 billion, drawn from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and a group of other global and regional institutions. Neither the size of PIF’s own commitment nor the final fundraising target has been disclosed.

PIF sits at the center of the deal as the PIF anchor investor. A backer of that size gives the fund a base of capital and, harder to price, local standing. An anchor like this can open the door to larger and more sensitive transactions than a first-time manager would reach alone. Yazeed A. Al-Humied, Deputy Governor and Head of MENA Investments at PIF, said the partnership is built to bring international private equity into Saudi Arabia and the wider region. The Brookfield Middle East Partners fund gives PIF a way to test that idea with real money.

What the Brookfield Middle East Partners fund will buy

Half the capital is set for Saudi Arabia. The rest will move across high-growth markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council. BMEP plans to pursue buyouts, minority growth equity and other deals across financial and business services, consumer services, industrials, technology and healthcare. Brookfield built the Brookfield $2 billion Saudi Arabia fund on nearly three decades of regional work. Since starting direct investments in 2015, the firm has managed more than $16 billion in assets across private equity, real estate and infrastructure in the Middle East.

The agreement did not appear overnight. PIF and Brookfield signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding in October 2024 at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, naming PIF as the strategic anchor. This first close follows the approval of PIF’s 2026 to 2030 strategy earlier this year, a plan weighted toward financial returns and wider private-sector participation. Public Investment Fund private equity commitments have grown as the sovereign fund shifts from writing every check itself toward drawing outside money in beside it. The pattern shows up again in the Brookfield Middle East Partners fund.

Why the Kingdom wants the money local

PIF said the investment supports its work to deepen Saudi capital markets, widen financing for local companies and bring new products to market. That aim runs straight through Saudi Vision 2030 investments, the program meant to move the economy off oil. The fund reported assets under management above $900 billion in 2025, up from $150 billion in 2015. More than $199 billion went into new domestic projects between 2021 and 2025. GCC private equity has drawn steady foreign interest as regional governments court managers willing to build teams on the ground.

What comes next

Bruce Flatt, chief executive of Brookfield, said the fund reflects growing international confidence in the region and a chance to back businesses for long-term growth. The firm will also bring the Brookfield Academy, founded in 2019, to Saudi Arabia, running professional development for investment staff. Whether the Brookfield Middle East Partners fund returns what both sides expect will take years to read. The money, for now, sits on the table.

📸: Saudi Gazette

  • 3 min read
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