Laos’s recent World Trade Organisation membership will make it a more viable FDI option, but will the investors come?

Macao's gaming industry has been driving the special administrative region's economy in recent years, but concerns about over-reliance have led its government to seek other streams of revenue, starting with the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions sector.

By diversifying its tourist sector and attracting visitors from the growing markets of Asia and Latin America, the Bahamas is tackling its problem of unemployment, says the country's prime minister, Perry G Christie.

Abulfaz Garayev is looking to build on the success of the country's hosting of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest and is preparing for its first ski resort.

Governments across the globe are recognising the importance of nurturing and developing tourism, both as an industry in itself and as a way to improve their country's image, which can help attract investment in other sectors.

Dubai's economy has long been dependent on its real estate and tourism sectors but, in a bid to diversify, the emirate has started focusing on logistics, financial services and energy, with government-backed initiatives – including an airport city, a financial free zone and a new solar park – driving the rapid growth of each of these sectors.

The Arab Spring protests, and the months of political instability that followed, slowed FDI inflows into north Africa. But rather than pulling out of the region entirely, many investors simply put their projects on hold or moved into other more stable economies such as Morocco and Algeria.