Dubai brings in 7.12 million international visitors amid travel resurgence

The data showed a 183 percent year-on-year visitation growth compared to 2.52 million visitors who travelled to the emirate in 2021.

“This positive trend in H1 2022 places the city firmly on track to achieve its tourism goals for 2022 and beyond, and further reinforces its position as an international destination of choice,” a statement on WAM said.

“The rapid rise in international tourist arrivals puts Dubai on track to achieve its ambitious target of becoming the world’s most visited destination. In the years ahead, Dubai will continue to develop itself further as a destination that offers compelling value to international travellers,” the emirate’s crown prince and chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

He added the growth in tourist numbers reflect the resilience and dynamism of the emirate’s economy.

This year’s numbers were close to those of 2019 during the same period, where Dubai saw 8.36 million tourists, and reflected the emirate’s quick rebound from the pandemic despite challenges and macroeconomic factors on global economy and tourism sector.

The profits in numbers were also due to the high volume of hotel occupancy levels, where the average occupancy for the hotel sector over the six months stood at a record rate of 74 percent.

This was one of the highest hotel occupancy rates from the world over.

“Dubai hotel establishments delivered a combined 18.47 million occupied room nights during the first six months of the year, a 30.4 percent year-on-year growth, and an 18 percent increase over the pre-pandemic period of H1 2019, which yielded 15.71 million occupied room nights,” the statement by WAM said.

The hotel sector outperformed pre-pandemic levels across all other key measurements – occupied room nights, average daily rate (ADR) and revenue per available room (RevPAR).