Dubai Records 214% Growth In Overnight Visitation In Jan March 2022

The city of Dubai welcomed millions of international visitors between January and March 2022, up from millions of visitors during the same period last year.

This showcasing a massive 214 percent YoY visitation growth puts the city firmly on track for this year while at the same time reaffirming Dubai's position as the primary spot for global visitors.

Dubai ranked No. 1 globally in hotel occupancy in the first quarter of 2022 with 82%. His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai said, "Dubai's ability to surpass other major global cities in key tourism indicators demonstrates the success of the far-reaching vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai for creating a centre for business, investment, entrepreneurship and tourism that competes the worlds best.

The strength of His Highness's revision and his fast determination to make it a reality has enabled Dubai to overcome the most complicated global challenges, including the repercussions of the recent worldwide health rises, to create a destination that provides rich value for tourists, whether they are visiting for leisure or business.

"The exceptional number of visitors in the first three months of the year is a testament to the fact that Dubai is at the forefront of global tourism recovery. These results attest to the Emirate's ability to develop a compelling new value proposition in a changing global environment and create innovative new offerings that meet the needs and preferences of the most discerning global travellers. Additionally, the vast global diversity of its visitors reflects Dubai's appeal as a destination that cuts across nationalities, regions, and continents and its growing status as a city that bridges global markets and cultures," His Highness added.

As per the latest data released by Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism at the ongoing Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, the first quarter international visitation mirrored the best Q1 performance since teh global pandemic, creating a clear pathway for the city to progress towards its covered goal of becoming the worlds most visited destination.

March 2022 was an exceptional month for post-pandemic tourism arrivals as the city invited millions of visitors, an 11 per cent increase over pre-pandemic visitation. The town invited millions of overnight visitors in March 2019. Dubai's impressive Q1 2022 results include a stellar hotel performance that shows prominent growth across key hospitality metrics. His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism, commented, "Spearheaded by the visionary leadership and guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the exceptional performance in Q1 2022 cements Dubai's position as the destination of choice for international travellers and lays a solid groundwork for the city to deliver sustainable growth. The biggest successful Expo 2020 Dubai won a portfolio of leisure and business events in the first three months, placing the city on the world stage while reinforcing Dubai's global economy and tourism hub stand.

"Since leading global tourism recovery with the reopening of the city to international travellers in July 2020, Dubai has only gone from strength to strength, building on the momentum year on year by carefully calibrating a multi-pronged approach with the support of our valued ecosystem of stakeholders and partners to ensure the city remains open safe and accessible. With our result-oriented strategy becoming a role model for recovery, we are happy to invite the world as it yearns to be a part of Dubai's successful tourism journey.

"While these critical metrics of Q1 2022 allow us to benchmark our progress, we will seek to broaden Dubai's global appeal to new and diversified market segments and focus on encouraging greater length of stay and repeat visitation. And as we progress through 2022, we will also continually strive to achieve Dubai's vision of becoming the most sight travel destination and the best city in the world to live in and work in," HE Helal Almarri added.

Strongholds stage a remarkable comeback.

With the easing of travel restrictions worldwide, Dubai's local source markets delivered impressive tourism volumes in the first quarter. Both MENA and GCC collectively contribute 35 per cent of the volumes, mirroring Dubai's continued appeal to travellers from proximity makes. Overall, catering to the family-dominated GCC, travellers were a host of attractions and retail, sporting, and entertainment activities. Western Europe is subjected to 24 per cent of Dubai's tourism arrivals, while South Asia is estimated to be about 14 per cent of total international visitors.

Hotels lead the robust rebound.

Dubai hotels achieved prominent growth all across the key hospitality metrics in 2022, with average daily Rate, guest length of Stay and Occupied Room Nights exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

Achievements and Recognition

Making upon the city's drive to further diversify its offerings will ensure it is a broad tourist of all ages and interests. Q1 2022 witnessed the opening of the latest attractions and leisure spots, including the Museum of the Future.

Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, added, "Dubai's continued success, as demonstrated by the Q1 2022 results, validates the strategic framework that was put in place at the outset of the pandemic to implement the highest levels of health and safety, further reinforcing the trust that UAE residents and global travellers place in the city as one of the safest destinations in the world. Our commitment to safety travellers places the city as one of the safest destinations in the world. Our commitment to safety and the strength of our government, public and private sector partnerships, and our effective promotional and outreach have been fundamental in fueling growth in this period. As we are in the early stages of what promises to be an outstanding year for our tourism industry, we will continue to constantly dialogue with our domestic and international partners to sustain Dubai's multifaceted global throughout 2022 and beyond."

Global Happenings and Campaigns aided in driving Q1 growth.

As many references to the position of Dubai as an international incidents spot, the roster of global proceedings led by the 2020 Expo formed the cornerstone of Q1's success. Surpassing all expectations, Expo 2020 Dubai saw 192 countries participate in Connecting Minds and Creating the Future to celebrate culture, including the Dubai World Cup, World Government Summit, Binance Blockchain Week, and many more. Additionally, ATM 2022 and the ongoing Dubai Food Festival will strengthen Dubai's appeal as a family-friendly destination for the summer period. This year, DET will also celebrate the city's official events listings platform, Dubai Calendar. The continuous use of newer global campaigns to highlight the city's diverse destination proposition and reach international markets also significantly increased momentum, including the recent global campaign. Dubai represents featuring Hollywood stars Jessica Alba and Zac Efron. That is filmed by the Directors Guild award-winning Director Craig Gillespie Dubai Presents, declared in late 2021, and has been rolled out in 27 countries across 16 languages through cinema, print, broadcast, out-of-home, digital and social media channels. Since its launch, it has generated over 850 million views across multiple platforms, driving enquiries, stimulating engagement, and spurring bookings. In March, the campaigns featured world-famous celebrities with the release of Dubai presents Shah Rukh Khan, which sees the Bollywood superstar bringing into focus the best experiences ever in Dubai provides to international travellers.

Sustainability Initiatives

As the travel industry continues to expand and innovate, Dubai has launched some significant intervals curated to meet the requirements of a new generation of travellers seeking to explore destinations committed to sustainability. 2040 Dubai Urban Master Plan reinforces the city's varied development programmes embedded with sustainability features. In February 2022, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai's Crown Prince and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, started the Dubai Can sustainability initiative curated to encourage people to utilise regular lifestyle changes to inspire a movement to majorly diminishing the usage of the single-use plastic bottles with the efforts for enhancing Dubai's position as a leading sustainable destination.

Newer Approach for Driving Growth

A new strategy and regulatory bodies consisting of the latest declaration of more choices under the Golden Visa, as there is an increase in the duration of the visa from 30 days to 60 days starting from September, are all set to boost visitor arrivals further and encourage travellers to stay for a longer duration and explore the city's varied offerings while also aiding those who consider permanent movement towards Dubai. Additionally, the property investor and entrepreneur visas, Retire in Dubai, and Virtual Workig programmes give more flexibility and choices for talent to visit and stay in Dubai.  

#uaenews #tourismgrowth ##dubaitourism #worldclass #destination