Preparations are underway for the annual Cityscape Global Conference in Dubai, the region’s largest real estate exhibition. Ahead of the event on 5th September 2016, Cityscape Global spoke to Baharash Bagherian about the Dubai Real Estate outlook beyond 2016.

CSG: Please specify which conference you will be taking part in? 

I will be taking part in the Cityscape Global Conference, panel discussion on “Trending Transformations in Design Practice and Implications for the MENA Region”. I will be sharing insights into our projects, providing predictions, discussing challenges and opportunities, as well as speaking about “designing for a sustainable future”.

How significant is speaking at Cityscape Global to you?

As one of the most prominent real estate exhibitions in the world, Cityscape Global provides a great platform to for us to share insights on the current opportunities within the real estate market.  It’s also a great platform to connect and meet with the industry’s leading experts.

Is it a good time to invest in real estate in Dubai?

Given the long term outlook with various mega projects and infrastructure developments planned including the Expo 2020, I think it’s a great time to invest for the long term.

In what could be a post-oil era for Dubai and the UAE, do you feel that the country is taking the right steps in diversifying revenue streams?

UAE needs to understand that the best way to diversity its revenue stream and transform it into a green economy, is by fostering a bottom-up entrepreneurship through Public Private Partnerships. If the country focused on investing in young companies that offered innovative products or services in various sectors such as health, water, agriculture, education or renewable energy as a few examples; they will be nurturing entrepreneurial spirit from the Bottom-Up. This inward investment will create more green jobs & will most likely result in a new way of thinking.

How do you see the local real estate market changing in the next five years?

We are already seeing a new generation of Emiratis who are focusing on more sustainable developments and Eco Resort Group is a good example of such company. 

I believe that there will be a growing trend in the development of eco resort destinations in UAE. Some of these eco resort destinations can make a significant contribution in growing a green economy and growing UAE’s ecotourism sector.

By 2021, UAE is expecting to welcome 45 million people, of which 31 million will be international tourists. Transforming this rapidly growing sector into a green economy by creating eco resorts, will place UAE at the top of the growing ecotourism market whilst diversifying its economy. Ecotourism captures $77 billion of the global market and is experiencing double-digit gains that are likely to accelerate as concern about global warming rises.

I also believe that more developers in Dubai will look to build more in tune with nature, working with the unique qualities of their sites. Using local materials and vernacular techniques combined with modern technology, there are opportunities to create truly smart and sustainable projects.

For the full original article please see Baharash Architecture.