Russia has grown to become the second largest source market for Dubai’s tourism sector iin 2021, climbing from eighth place in the previous year’s rankings.
The data, released ahead of the next edition of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from May 9-12, shows that the average spend of Russian travellers is also expected to grow to reach about $1,280 per person by 2026.
Commissioned by Reed Exhibitions, the organisers of ATM 2022, the Colliers report said that the UAE is likely to retain its status as the preferred GCC destination for Russian visitors over the longer term, accounting for more than 90 percent of inbound arrivals in the same period.
Consequently, the Russian market is on course to surpass $1 billion for the UAE within the next four years, Colliers added.
Danielle Curtis, exhibition director ME – Arabian Travel Market, said: “The latest figures from Colliers demonstrate that visitors from Russia are playing – and will continue to play – an important role for our region’s travel sector, especially when it comes to the UAE.
“The fact that Dubai was among the first destinations to open its borders to Russian travellers without the need to quarantine has no doubt been a significant factor in the sustained levels of visitation, with 296,000 inbound arrivals to the emirate in 2020.
“Encouragingly, 2021 numbers look set to surpass that figure, with Dubai having welcomed 256,000 visitors from Russia as of the third quarter of the year.”
The Russian market’s average length of stay saw a year-on-year uptick of 74.5 percent in Q4 2021, growing to 8.2 nights from the 4.7 nights recorded during the corresponding period of the previous year.
Colliers predicted that drivers such as Expo 2020 Dubai and spillover demand from FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will boost inbound arrivals from Russia by 170 percent in the short term.
In line with the UAE government’s transition to a 4.5-day, Monday-to-Friday workweek, this year’s edition of ATM will commence on May 9.
The event will take place as the UAE remains one of the most Covid-secure countries on the planet, with consistently low case rates and robust measures to ensure tourists’ safety at every stage of their visit.
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