Recent reports have confirmed that tourism in Dubai was booming to support government policies and stimulus programs to boost corporate performance and business profitability. According to a report by, the latest reading of the Dubai economy shows the growth of the tourism sector continued last month, supported by strong tourism and travel activity with increased tourism flows amid expectations that the momentum will continue in the coming period, Which will see significant tourist flows, with the world event expected to attract millions of visitors.
India has maintained its first position in the top 10 markets exporting visitors to Dubai with more than two million visitors in 2018, according to the Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing Department’s Tourism and Commercial Marketing Statistics of 2018.
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The number of visitors to Dubai from India is supported by a combination of factors, including enhanced collaboration with local sector partners in India, local media such as TOI, and customized promotional campaigns, including the launch of the promotional film “Be My Guest” Starring Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan. As well as seasonal campaigns targeting specific segments of the audience from across India.
Saudi Arabia came at second place on the list of the ten major markets, and maintained the advanced position within the GCC markets , the number of visitors reached 1.6 million visitors, registering a growth rate of 3% compared with the same period last year, and has contributed to the establishment and organization of some events and activities and presentations Which coincided with special events, most notably the National Day of the Kingdom in increasing the demand for the emirate.
And came in third place, the United Kingdom by about 1.2 million visitors in 2018, confirming the increasing attractiveness of Dubai to British visitors. This is in spite of the unclear “BREXIT” of Britain’s exit from the EU region, which has affected the rate of incoming tourism and overall expenditure.
The 2018 results have been positive in many of the top ten markets, with China, Russia, and Germany achieving remarkable growth rates over the past year. China advanced to fourth place, rising 12% to reach 857,000, followed by Russia with 678,000 visitors, a 28% growth. Where nationals of both China and Russia have benefited from the facilitation procedures for issuing visas on arrival at state ports. Visitors from Germany increased by 12% to 567,000, compared with 506,000 in 2017.
The number of visitors from the United States, which came in seventh place by 4% to reach 656 thousand visitors, while the Philippines entered for the first time the list of the ten major markets with a total of 387 thousand visitors. As a result of the successful marketing strategies undertaken by Dubai Tourism in a number of important markets, the emirate was able to receive about 348,000 visitors from France, which advanced two centers and saw a 17% increase in visitors over the same period last year. While the Italian market grew by 9%, the Nigerian market grew by 36% and returned to the list of 20 markets with a visitor number of 185 thousand visitors. These positive results have contributed to reducing the impact of the downturn in some markets such as Oman and Pakistan.
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With regard to results according to geographic regions, Western Europe emerged in 2018 as a strong contributor to the number of one-night visitors to 21%, maintaining its leading position since 2017. The GCC region followed by 17% and South Asia with 18% In terms of numbers of international visitors. North and South-East Asia accounted for 11%, which confirms the effectiveness of Dubai’s market diversification strategy.
The Middle East and North Africa region recorded a steady growth rate of 10%. The region of Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States and Eastern European countries grew by 9%, up 2% from 2017. The Americas and North Africa contributed 6% each, while Australia maintained its share of the total by 2% in 2018.
