Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) revealed on Saturday that the emirate welcomed 4.88 million visitors between January and October.
International visitors during October alone reached over one million, reflecting the rising growth momentum and stability of the industry, DET said in a statement.
Strong international appeal was complemented by a robust domestic tourism market, resulting in 9.4 million room nights sold in the first 10 months of 2021 compared to 7 million room nights sold in the same period in 2019.
The latest tourism figures were released at the second bi-annual city briefing of 2021 held by the Department of Economy and Tourism.
The meeting was presided by Helal Saeed Almarri, director general, DET, who 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.
“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.
“Through this highly energised and cohesive tourism and economic ecosystem, I am confident that Dubai will deliver on its vision of being the world’s leading global centre for investment, business, talent, visitation and next-generation thinking.”
Year-to-date to October, occupancy was at almost 64 percent while the length of stay showed a 12 percent 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 AED384 compared to 15.66 million at an average daily rate of AED335. Room inventory is now 6 percent higher than 2019, the figures showed.
Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said: “We are proud to be part of the success Dubai has achieved so far in 2021… Dubai’s ability to evolve and adapt, with the support of our stakeholders and partners, has been critical in ensuring that the city continues to retain its position at the forefront of the world’s leading travel and business destinations.”
Dubai’s success has been boosted by the integrated global marketing campaign ‘Dubai Presents’ that has broadcast over 3,500 assets across 25 languages and specifically targeted audiences starring A-list actors Jessica Alba and Zac Efron.
DET said its focus for the upcoming year include initiatives to further catalyse Expo 2020 visitor numbers, strengthen relationships with the travel trade and explore new channels to source visitors.
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