ABU DHABI 2 August 2018: The UAE has become a leading international tourism destination – and is taking further steps to consolidate its position by making it easier for tourists.
The country’s tourism sector will also be boosted by a plan to exempt transit tourists from entry visa fees for the first 48 hours of their stay.
The UAE has prioritised tourism, which is a key pillar of its economy and supports its competitiveness. The UAE Cabinet adopted a decision to exempt the companions of visitors who are under 18 years of age from requiring entry visa fees when visiting the country between 15th July and 15th September each year.
This decision highlights the UAE’s importance to the international tourism sector as a destination that attracts families and tourists from around the world, which is reflected in the number of airport arrivals during the first quarter of 2018 that reached around 32.8 million.
Among Fastest Growing
According to the World Tourism Organisation, WTO, the UAE is currently one of the ten fastest growing tourist destinations in the world, which was achieved by the country’s emirates, especially Abu Dhabi, through developing infrastructure and supporting the hotel sector, as well as holding exhibitions, festivals and other events, such as the Sheikh Zayed Heritage Festival, the Sultan bin Zayed Heritage Festival, and the Abu Dhabi Art Fair, said Wam.
The latest statistics from the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism confirm that 162 hotels, hotel apartments and resorts in the emirate received 339,592 guests during the first half of 2018, an increase of around 19,000 guests from June 2017 while hotel establishments in the emirate received 2,413,230 guests during the first six months of the current year, a growth of 5 percent over the same period in 2017.
Dubai record overnight visitors in H1 2018
Dubai welcomed a record 8.10 million international overnight tourists during the first six months of 2018, representing a consistent increase on the same period last year.
Figures released by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) have confirmed the continued success of the emirate’s tourism sector, which at the end of 2017 was worth Dh109 billion a year.
A destination of choice for a number of global markets, Dubai is on track for projected growth into the second half of 2018.
Top Tourists
Top source markets continued to witness stable year-on-year performances in the first half of 2018, with India, KSA and the UK retaining their top three positions when compared to the same period last year. India again brought in the highest number of international guests, once again crossing the 1-million-mark over a six-month period, up by three per cent year-on-year.
KSA and the UK retained their spots as the second and third largest feeder markets respectively, with the former rallying to a slight increase and remaining as the highest traffic driver from the GCC region. China ended the first half of 2018 in fourth place, continuing its upward trajectory by nine per cent to deliver 453,000 tourists.
Meanwhile, Russia topped the growth charts with a stellar 74 per cent increase over H1 2017, delivering 405,000 visitors to jump five positions within the top ten source markets. Both markets continued to benefit from added ease of travel access following the introduction of visa-on-arrival facilities for Chinese and Russian citizens in late 2016 and early 2017 respectively.
The first half of 2018 also witnessed increased contributions from the USA and Germany, standing strong at seventh and eighth positions with 327,000 and 302,000 visitors respectively. This affirmed the successful delivery of a diversified market strategy, activating multi-pronged efforts to prioritise maintenance of continued strong appeal to travellers from key source geographies, and increasing advocacy by focusing on targeted improvements to the tourism pillars that appeal most to these audiences.
Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai Tourism, commented: “Attracting 8.10 million visitors during the first half of 2018 stands us in good stead as we accelerate momentum towards our visionary aspiration of becoming the most visited city in the world.”
European Travellers
From a regional perspective, Western Europe contributed 21 per cent of the overnight visitor volumes, maintaining its position from the same period last year as the largest source of visitors. With double digit percentage increases in visitor numbers in three of the top twenty source markets, France, Italy and Germany witnessed strong increases of 18 per cent, 11 per cent and 12 percent respectively; a key indicator of successful destination marketing efforts aimed at driving consideration from a wider yet highly targeted spectrum of European traveller segments.
Hotel Supply
Spread across a total of 700 establishments, Dubai’s hotel room inventory stood at 111,317 at the end of June 2018, up seven per cent compared to the same time last year. With an increase in demand for mid-market hotels operating in Dubai, the number of four star properties has increased from 114 to 138 representing 25 per cent of the rooms inventory. Occupied room nights were also up year on year with a total of 14.97 million compared to 14.53 million during the same period in 2017, outlining the ongoing diversity and popularity of Dubai’s hospitality sector.