South Africa has many lessons to learn from Dubai - particularly in how to transform a commodity-driven economy to one based on services.

Dubai's future now rests not on oil but tourism, trade and property.

Abdullah bin Suwaidan of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing says the vision of the Dubai government is to be the leading tourism hub and commercial centre in the world.

And South African businesses are biting. I spot Woolworths and Truworths in a shopping mall downtown. I see the Mugg & Bean and Nando's along a main traffic route. At the opulent Madinat Jumeirah resort is an outlet of The Meat Company.

There are about 40,000 South Africans currently working and living in Dubai.

Numerous marketing initiatives, construction projects, theme parks, shopping malls and free zones have helped fuel the rampant growth of the emirate. It's aided by the fact that the Dubai government is run like a business, where foreign investors and workers are encouraged to contribute, deal, buy and sell rather than being held up by red tape and bureaucratic nightmares.

Part of the transformation process was to go to Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia to learn from their experience. ?The main interest of the government is to increase the standard of living of our nationals. This is a place for business. This is not a place for politics,? says Ali Ibrahim Mohamed, deputy director general for Executive Affairs in the Department of Economic Development.

The fundamentals have been put in place, such as speed of decision-making. Over the past three years, 5,000 to 6,000 business licences have been issued a year.

Sultan Lootah, manager of business promotion at the Trade and Industrial Development Department, says the secret of success is to import what is needed. The process is helped because there are free storage areas for these goods.

Essentially, the emirate is a mammoth marketplace, a trade hub for the region which buys and on-sells goods. Two billion consumers are in close proximity to Dubai: the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Indian sub-continent, East, Central and North Africa and the Middle East.

There are free zones, suitable for companies intending to use Dubai as a regional manufacturing or distribution base where most or all of their turnover is outside the United Arab Emirates. Companies operating here are treated as being offshore.

Many of the low-paid, blue-collar workers come from India, Pakistan and the Philippines, many of whom have no voting rights. But they earn more than they would in their home countries - and the attitude is if they don't like it they are free to leave.

Life meanwhile, is good for the Emirates residents who enjoy strong economic growth. Economic achievements are astounding: Dubai's growth rate has been 10% to 16% over the past three years.

Visitors are coming in droves. About two million people visit the country a year, with the expectation that there will be 60-million to 70-million transit visitors a year by 2010 (those en route to another destination).

Some 200 building projects are under way. The amount of money spent on these projects is substantial, but finding out costing is near impossible: local money is largely oil money from influential and wealthy families with links to the royal family.

Just some of the construction projects under way: The Palm. The creation of the world's largest three man-made islands. The Trump Organisation is to build a $400-million luxury hotel on the first island to be completed, Palm Jumeirah. Hotel magnate Sol Kerzner is to build on the second and even bigger island, Palm Jebel Ali.

Then there's The World, set to comprise 300 islands, which collectively will resemble the shape of the world, costing $1.8-billion.

Both projects are being developed by government-owned property group Nakheel, which currently has $35-billion worth of property developments under way.

Jacqui Josephson, tourism and VIP delegations executive at Nakheel, says the cheapest and smallest island in The World will cost about $7.5-million. Among the most expensive is Australia, at $36-million. It was bought by a Kuwaiti, who then also bought Papua New Guinea. "I don't think South Africa has been sold," she says.

For those who may be interested in buying it, the "South Africa" island spans 40,000m² and costs about $32-million.

Emaar Properties (whose market capitalisation on the Dubai stock exchange is $40-billion) is building the Burj Dubai, set to be the world's tallest building. The exact height will not be disclosed for fear of revealing its competitive advantage.

Everything is taller, bigger and better in Dubai. There are about 40 malls - one of the more distinct, the Mall of the Emirates, is about to open what could be the world's largest indoor ski resort, using real snow.

The Dubai Shopping Festival is among the initiatives to promote tourism: the total spend this year was 6.67-billion dirham (about R12-billion), with 3.3-million visitors.

• Adele Shevel was a guest of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing of Dubai