FILE PHOTO: People swim at a swimming pool in the Atlantis The Palm hotel, as the Emirates reopen to tourism amid coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Dubai, United Arab Emirates July 7, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah/File Photo

Dubai plans to merge the departments of economy and tourism and hopes to attract 25 million tourists in 2025, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai’s Crown Prince, said on Twitter on Saturday.

Sheikh Hamdan added that Helal Al Marri will be appointed as a general director of the new department.

Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said the new department’s main objectives include increasing the added value of the industrial sector by 150% over the next five years, expanding foreign export markets for local products by 50%, and increasing the number of tourists by 40%, his media office said.

He added that the Emirate also wants to attract 100,000 companies in 3 years, 400 global economic events annually by 2025, and encourage private sector companies and family businesses to list on the financial markets and stock exchanges in Dubai.