Tourism in Dubai in 2024: key figures to remember

Dubai is fast becoming a trendy vacation destination. Today, we take a look at the tourism figures for Dubai in 2022!

Table of contents

India to top Dubai's visitor list in 2022

Around 7.28 million foreign nationals visited Dubai between January and December 2021. More than 900,000 of them from India. India was, and continues to be, the main source of visitors to Dubai and the UAE. Between January and June 2022, there were over 700,000 visitors from India.

Saudi Arabia came second with 490,000 visitors, followed by Russia with 440,000. However, the majority of visitors to Dubai come from Europe.

22% of Europeans visit Dubai

When broken down by region, from January to December 2021, Western Europeans dominated the tourism category, with 22 % of total visitors. South Asians followed closely behind with 18 % of inbound visitors from Asia. In third place were Eastern Europeans with 15%. Finally, 8% of tourists came from the African region.

Some of these tourists want to know whether expatriating to Dubai would be a good idea, especially for those seeking to make money on the internet without investing.

With the influx of visitors from different continents, average spending in Dubai's tourism sector, and especially in the hotel sector, is on the rise.

An average accommodation budget of AED 451 per day

In 2020, despite the pandemic, Dubai welcomed 5.51 million visitors from all over the world. In addition to the plethora of sights and attractions that attracted this large number of people, Dubai is also well equipped in terms of accommodation to cope with this kind of influx.

The city boasts over 740 hotels, offering a total of 127,814 rooms. These rooms are available in a wide range of prices, to suit all tastes, from luxury rooms to cozier places for travelers on a budget. Visit The average daily room rate in Dubai is AED 451.

Hotels in Dubai will be booming in 2022. The vast majority of establishments are now almost fully booked.

A boom in hotel occupancy in Dubai

In the first three months of 2022, hotel sales reached 82 % average occupancy levelsThis is almost on a par with the occupancy levels of 84 % for the same period in 2019.

In terms of hotel occupancy, Dubai ranked first worldwide in the first quarter of 2022, ahead of other international destinations including London (56.0%), New York (55.3%) and Paris (51.2%).

A near-return to normalcy is boosting the sales figures of many of Dubai's tourism professionals.

25 billion in tourism sales in Dubai

Thanks to the influx of tourists from all over the world, sales figures for Dubai's tourism professionals have returned to more or less normal levels. In 2021, sales are expected to exceed 25 billion over the full year. Dubai therefore achieves a higher profit than in 2020. However, the city has not returned to a pre-pandemic flow. In fact, in 2019, the tourism sector will generate more than 38 billion euros in revenues over the year.

However, the figures remain much higher than in 2014In the same period, the city generated just under 15 billion in tourism revenues. These figures are easily explained by the ever-increasing number of visitors and the interest shown by tourists in the city of Dubai.

21.2% of additional tourists expected by 2023

Tourism in Dubai literally exploded after the pandemic. Indeed, in 2021, the country's tourist numbers exceeded 60 %. Forecasts show that 2022 could easily equal 2021. What's more, more than 21.2 % tourists already expected by 2023. If forecasts continue in this direction, the city will soon be able to prosper.

Of course, tourists flock to see dozens of different attractions. But it's the Burj Khalifa that's the most popular.

The Burj Khalifa in Dubai's top 10 search trends

Unsurprisingly, Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, is the most searched-for location on Google. Nearly a million people search for Burj Khalifa every monthThis is almost 6 times more than Burj Al Arab, the second most popular spot with 1,60,000 searches. Dubai Mall is the third most searched location in Dubai with 99,000 searches per month, and Global Village comes in fourth with 52,000 monthly searches. In addition, 35,000 people search Ski Dubai, 25,000 people search Dubai Frame and 15,000 people search Dubai Miracle Garden every month.

Among tourists' favorite attractions is the very recent Dubai Expo. It ran for two years and literally broke records.

A record-breaking exhibition in Dubai

Dubai Expo 2020 was a 6-month event that began on 1ᵉʳ October 2021 and ended on March 31, 2022. 24 million visitors from over 178 countries travelled to witness the breathtaking architecture, revolutionary technological advances and exciting live performances staged at the expo for the first time in the history of the world's fair, each country presented itself through a pavilion. The theme of the expo was to connect minds and inspire the future.

This exhibition helped to make the city much more attractive to tourists. As a result, Dubai has rapidly become one of the world's most visited cities.

Dubai, the world's fourth most visited city

Dubai is the world's fourth most visited city after Bangkok, Paris and London. Bangkok ranked first on the list, with an average number of visitors of over 22 million. Paris, the second most visited city in the world, attracts visitors with its classical buildings, bridges and elegant boulevards. The average number of visitors to the city is 19.10 million.

Like Paris, Dubai is beginning to strengthen its gastronomic sector. Tourists can discover many restaurants that have already won Michelin Guide awards.

Dubai's gastronomy, the spearhead of 2022

Dubai's reputation as the world's gastronomic hub was further enhanced by the announcement of the launch of the Michelin Guide Dubai in June.

In addition, 16 of Dubai's restaurants win Michelin Guide awards in the inaugural edition of the 50 Best Restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa in February 2022. Dubai is home to over 12,000 restaurants and cafés serving food and drink from the cultures of more than 200 nationalities resident in the city.

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