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The pace of Dubai’s tourism growth gathered momentum in the final quarter of 2022, with the number of visitors in the emirate surging by 134% in the first ten months of the year.
Between January and October this year, visitor numbers in the emirate reached 11.4 million, more than double the 4.88 million recorded in the same period last year, research by Dubai’s largest lender by assets, Emirates NBD, showed.
While visitor traffic had grown dramatically, the numbers are still 15% below what was recorded in 2019, which was 13.5 million.
The bank said the 15% difference in visitor numbers between 2022 and 2019 has been consistent throughout the year, as the global travel industry has yet to fully recover from the effects of the pandemic.
China, which was one of the five-largest source markets for the emirate prior to the pandemic, has seen very limited outbound tourism due to its zero-COVID strategy, the bank said.
“However, there are signs that these restrictions will continue to be eased in the coming months, which should provide a boost to tourism numbers in 2024,” the bank said in a research update published this week.
Top source markets
India was the top source market in 2022, with 1.4 million visitors, while Oman, Saudi Arabia, the UK and Russia make up the rest of the top five.
“These countries have seen large increases in numbers since the year prior but, with the exception of Oman and Russia, are still below 2019 levels,” the bank said.
By region, tourist arrivals from the GCC represented the largest source of visitors at 22%, followed by Western Europe at 20%.
Hotel occupancy
Hotel occupancy increased to 76.8% in October from 69.8% in September, but that was still slightly below last October’s occupancy rate of 80.7%, said Emirates NBD.
However, revenue per available room (RevPar) rose to $160 from $85 the month prior, but it was still 4% lower than last year’s October levels of 169.60.
“However, the apparent softness in hotel occupancy and RevPAR should be seen in the context of the increase in the supply of accommodation in Dubai,” the bank said.
“The number of hotel establishments has risen 7% from 736 to 790, while the number of rooms has risen 8% from 134,000 to 145,000.”
The bank concluded that tourism numbers for Dubai usually peak in the November to January period, and that the hospitality sector will likely be buoyed by the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
But, in the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey for Dubai, the travel and tourism sector index fell to 53.2, the lowest reading since January.
“While there may be an improvement in December with the World Cup underway, the PMI survey points to softening sentiment for the upcoming year, as the effects of tighter monetary policy and slower global growth weigh on the sector,” the bank said.
(Reporting by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by Cleofe Maceda)
