Dubai welcomed a record 8.1 million international overnight tourists during the first six months of 2018, representing a consistent increase on the same period last year.
Figures released by Dubai’s Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing have confirmed the continued success of the emirate’s tourism sector, which at the end of 2017 was worth AED109 billion a year.
A destination of choice for a number of global markets, Dubai is on track for projected growth into the second half of 2018.
Top source markets continued to witness stable year-on-year performances in the first half of 2018, with India, Saudi Arabia and the UK retaining their top three positions when compared to the same period last year.
India again brought in the highest number of international guests, once again crossing the one-million-mark over a six-month period, up by three per cent year-on-year.
Saudi and the UK retained their spots as the second and third largest feeder markets respectively, with the former rallying to a slight increase and remaining as the highest traffic driver from the GCC region.
China ended the first half of 2018 in fourth place, continuing its upward trajectory by nine per cent to deliver 453,000 tourists.
Meanwhile, Russia topped the growth charts with a stellar 74 per cent increase over the first half of 2017, delivering 405,000 visitors to jump five positions within the top ten source markets.
Both markets continued to benefit from added ease of travel access following the introduction of visa-on-arrival facilities for Chinese and Russian citizens in late 2016 and early 2017 respectively.
The first half of 2018 also witnessed increased contributions from the USA and Germany, standing strong at seventh and eighth positions with 327,000 and 302,000 visitors respectively.
Helal Saeed Almarri, director general, Dubai Tourism, commented: “The first six months of 2018 have both generated and sustained a steady performance, supporting strong growth across our global feeder markets.
“Attracting 8.10 million visitors during the first half of 2018 stands us in good stead as we accelerate momentum towards our visionary aspiration of becoming the most visited city in the world.
“The varied offering of Dubai’s tourism proposition has steadily evolved, prudently yet actively responding to market demand, and increasing the emirate’s attractiveness among target visitor segments across our key markets.
“As such, we have strategically deployed partnerships to ensure we continue to stay relevant and front of mind to both first-time and repeat visitors, while simultaneously creating a steady stream of Dubai ambassadors.”