Dubai welcomes 4.88 million tourists between Jan-Oct 2021

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

A total of 9.4 million room nights were booked during the first 10 months of the year, compared to seven million room nights sold in the same period in 2019. This was also driven by the growing trends towards ‘staycations’ in the domestic market.

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 Dhs384, in comparison to 15.66 million occupied room nights at an average daily rate of Dhs335.

Room inventory is now 6 per cent higher than 2019, the report said.

In terms of international visitors, research showed that in the first half of 2021, men accounted for 52 per cent of the total while women comprised 48 per cent. During the period, the emirate also attracted a higher first-time visitor’s volume when compared to the first half of the previous year.

#Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) reveals that the emirate welcomed 4.88 million visitors between January – October 2021. pic.twitter.com/y2Fbwntwnw

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) December 11, 2021

Helal Saeed Almarri, director general, DET, said: “Dubai has been at the vanguard of the world’s tourism and economic rebound, setting the tone for sustained recovery and growth.

“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.”

He added: “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.”

Expo 2020 Dubai has seen over 5.66 million visits up to December 5, since it first opened on October 1.

More than a quarter (28 per cent) of November visitors came from outside the UAE, with the top international visitor countries including India, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia and the UK.

“Through the effective citywide management of the pandemic, Dubai has strengthened its position as one of the safest destinations in the world,” said Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing.

“With our infrastructure, one of the highest vaccination rates in the world and flexible working visas, Dubai is becoming the preferred business hub for conglomerates and startups alike. As part of our strategy, we have consistently used innovative global campaigns to further highlight the city’s multi-faceted touristic appeal and reach our overseas markets, with the latest being Dubai Presents.”

The global marketing campaign ‘Dubai Presents’ broadcast over 3,500 assets across 25 languages and specifically targeted audiences that were seeking international travel.

DET also plans to launch more new initiatives to further grow Expo 2020 visitor numbers, strengthen relationships with the travel trade industry and explore new channels to source visitors, the statement added.