Tourism growth in Dubai gathers pace with 4.88m visitors between January-October 2021

International visitation in Dubai in October alone reaches over one million.

Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) revealed that the emirate welcomed 4.88 million visitors between January - October 2021 with international visitation during October alone reaching over one million.

Reflecting the rising growth momentum and stability of the industry, strong international visitation was complemented by a robust domestic tourism market, further boosting the hospitality sector resulting in 9.4 million room nights sold between January - October 2021 in comparison to 7 million room nights sold in the same period in 2019.

The latest tourism figures were released at the second bi-annual City Briefing of 2021 held by the Department of Economy and Tourism to provide stakeholders with key updates on the tourism sector’s positive growth and insights into current and future strategies and global marketing campaigns.

As Dubai continues to lead the global tourism rebound and stimulate international business growth, the forum featured a detailed presentation on domestic and global developments, including an overview of increasing visitor numbers, hotel occupancy, and activities in international markets, which have all reinforced Dubai’s profile as a safe, must-visit destination and the world’s best city to live, work and visit.

The meeting was presided by Helal Saeed Almarri, director-general, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, and was attended by over 1,150 representatives from leading establishments in the hospitality, travel, and tourism sectors. The forum was part of DET’s regular dialogue with business leaders to encourage collaboration and exchange insights to ensure the industry is seamlessly aligned with tourism growth initiatives and strategies. Held at Ain Dubai, the forum discussed ways to further accelerate growth in the industry, leveraging the latest landmark attractions to open in Dubai.

Almarri said: “Inspired by the visionary leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE, and Ruler of Dubai and strengthened by the success of Expo 2020 Dubai and the UAE’s Golden Jubilee celebrations, Dubai has been at the vanguard of the world’s tourism and economic rebound, setting the tone for sustained recovery and growth."

Dubai’s strong reputation for safe travel internationally has resulted in both domestic and international tourism growth, as seen by the improved hotel performance. In a year-to-date study in October 2021, occupancy was at almost 64 per cent, while the length of stay showed a 12 per cent increase from 4.1 nights to 4.6 nights. During this period, there were 24.74 million occupied rooms nights across the emirate at an average daily rate of Dh384, in comparison to 15.66 million occupied room nights at an average daily rate of Dh335. Room inventory is now six per cent higher than 2019.

“Our multi-pronged strategy to combat the pandemic and deployment of wide-ranging initiatives to increase our global competitiveness and attractiveness is a hallmark of Dubai’s highly progressive public-private partnership model, which has been a cornerstone of not only what was achieved in 2021 but what will be achieved in the next critical 12 to 24-month period. Expo 2020 also provides us a unique platform to engage with the global community as all hotels and tourism partners work closely to facilitate visits for their guests to maximise this opportunity," added Almarri.

— business@khaleejtimes.com