The aviation industry is expected to contribute $88.1bn, or an estimated 45 per cent, to Dubai’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, according to Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports Company.

This marks a three-fold growth compared to figures in 2013, where the sector contributed $26.7bn to the emirate’s GDP.

The number of jobs within the sector is also expected to grow to 1.19 million at the end of the forecast period, to account for a total of 35 per cent of jobs within the emirate.

The explosive growth in outbound and inbound travel in Asia Pacific, particularly in China, is understood to have fuelled the growth forecast. “We are within eight flying hours of what will be the world’s fastest growing market over the next decade,” Griffiths told the Global Aviation Leaders’ Forum in Dubai on 16 May.

Despite slower growth in passenger traffic in 2016 due to political and economic factors, the executive said they remain optimistic in terms of the long-term potential of the local aviation sector.

The $33bn expansion of Al-Maktoum International airport is also expected to proceed as planned, with the initial funding of $3bn recently signed.

Dubai-based Emirates Group has recently reported a 70 per cent decline in profitability for the fiscal year ending 31 March, in what its chairman and CEO Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum described as the most challenging year of its operations to date.