Mitteilungen der Österreichischen Geographischen Gesellschaft, Band 166/2024, pp. 207-237, 2025/04/30
Band 166 (Jahresband), Wien 2024
Volume 166 (Annual volume), Vienna 2024
In the context of economic and geopolitical rivalry between the Gulf countries, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, three of the most outstanding exponents where globalisation is manifested in the region, have been focusing in recent decades on their economic diversi-fication. This economic change is favouring their positioning in the global urban system and present themselves to the world as attractive destinations for business, investment, international trade, sports and tourism.In this positioning, air transport acts as a fundamental agent to intensify the interna-tional projection and promote a positive image of these three destinations, through their airports-airlines binomials. These are constituted as tools for the projection of power (both hard and soft) and effective means to make strategic investments in other countries, together with their respective sovereign investment funds. Using different international rankings and a multi-faceted methodology based on bib-liographic review and the analysis and processing of statistical data from international organisations, the results reveal the growing competitiveness of these cities, thanks to the three major Gulf carriers and their respective airport hubs, which constitute powerful interconnection platforms that contribute to intensifying their global influence.
Keywords: Airport-airline binomial, Middle East (ME3) carriers, Gulf airport-hubs, rankings, world urban system