Dubai welcomed 4.67m international overnight visitors in the first quarter of 2023, compared to 3.97m tourists during the same period in 2022.
This marks a 17 per cent year-on-year growth and the city’s best Q1 performance since the pandemic, placing it firmly on track to becoming the most visited international destination, according to data published by the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET).
The growth, which sets the city on course to full tourism recovery, contributes to the goal of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai this January, to consolidate Dubai’s status as one of the world’s top three cities.
Dubai tourism 2023
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, said: “The remarkable growth in international visitation achieved by Dubai in the first quarter of 2023 demonstrates the city’s emergence as one of the key destinations leading the way in the rebound of the global tourism sector.
“This achievement has been made possible by the far-reaching vision of the leadership to transform Dubai into one of the world’s fastest-growing metropolises and the globe’s pre-eminent hub for travel, talent, entrepreneurship and investment.
Sheikh Hamdan added that in the years ahead Dubai will continue to introduce new initiatives to offer a distinctive proposition for travellers and achieve its goal of becoming the world’s best place to live, visit, work and invest in.
The latest industry results, announced at Arabian Travel Market 2023 in the Dubai World Trade Centre, positions Dubai as the fastest recovering destination globally, achieving 98 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in Q1 2023, and exceeding the projection made by the United Nations World Trade Organisation that international tourist arrivals could reach between 80-95 per cent of pre-pandemic levels this year, especially in Europe and the Middle East.
The number of visitors in Q1 2023 was just two percentage points short of pre-pandemic volume of 4.75m tourists that arrived in Dubai in the first three months of 2019, a remarkable achievement since turning the tide in July 2020 by reopening the city to international tourists, and in spite of current global economic headwinds.
Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, said: “Q1 2023 has set us off on a very strong trajectory for the year.
“The positive industry performance is an endorsement of our well-defined strategy, and a testament to the unwavering support of our tourism industry partners and stakeholders.
“The coming decade will see our industry going through extraordinary phases of transformation, in terms of infrastructure, technology, attractions and experiences, as we focus on achieving the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda 2033.”
The emirate’s traditional source markets delivered solid tourism volumes during the first quarter of the year. Tourists came from:
- GCC and MENA = 29 per cent
- Western Europe = 22 per cent
- South Asia = 16 per cent
- CIS and Eastern Europe = 15 per cent
- Americas = 7 per cent
- North Asia and South East Asia = 6 per cent
- Africa = 4 per cent
- Australasia = 1 per cent
The majority of the regions have demonstrated significant increase in Q1 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 while four regions have fully recovered and surpassed Q1 2019 levels:
- CIS and Eastern Europe (48 % vs. Q1 2019)
- MENA (32 % vs. Q1-2019)
- Americas (9 % vs. Q1-2019
- Australasia (2 % vs 2019).
Both South Asia and Western Europe are close to achieving pre-pandemic levels in terms of tourism volumes.
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