Tools such as concrete curing tanks, tamp beams and rose trowels are being widely used in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), new research suggests.

New figures from Proleads show that £2.7 billion worth of hotel developments are currently taking place in the country.

This means that the UAE is seeing more hotel construction activity than anywhere else in the Gulf.

According to Proleads, more than £4.3 billion is being spent on new hotels across the region as a whole.

This represents good news for the construction industry in the area, boosting the take-up of equipment such as bricklaying tools and concrete accessories.

Maggie Moore, exhibition director at The Hotel Show, is optimistic about the future about the Gulf's hospitality sector, which could bode well for further construction activity in the region.

"Set against global trends, the region is still comfortably placed when compared with the rest of the world," she commented.

However, she acknowledged that the Middle East has not emerged "totally unscathed" from the global financial crisis.

The release of the figures follows the recent unveiling of the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai - an 828-metre structure that now stands as the world's tallest building.