Khaleej
Times, Thursday, Dec 15, 2022 | Jamadi Al Awwal 21, 1444
AH
Dubai overnight visitors jump 134% to 11.4 million; Indians, Pakistanis among top travellers
The number of overnight visitors to Dubai in the first 10 months of 2022
more than doubled, driven by a strong inflow of tourists from India, Oman
and Saudi Arabia.
According to Dubai Economy and Tourism, the emirate received 11.4 million
overnight international visitors during January-October 2022 period, an increase
of 134 per cent when compared to the same period last year, Issam Kazim CEO
Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said at a conference on
Thursday.
The emirate received 4.88 million visitors in the first 10 months of last year.
However, the numbers are down by just 16 per cent when compared to the
pre-pandemic year.
India and Oman were the two major source markets with million-plus visitors
during the first 10 months of 2022, followed by Saudi Arabia, the UK, Russia,
the USA, Germany, Pakistan, France and Iran.
“When the rest of the world is still recovering from Covid, we have been able to
see success in our numbers despite China still not being back to its full
potential. We have diversified our approach and this helped us to tap new
markets,” said Kazim.
Emirates NBD Research said Dubai hotel occupancy increased to 76.8 per cent in
October from 69.8 per cent in September, but this was slightly below last
October’s occupancy rate of 80.7 per cent.
The revenue per available room (RevPar) rose to $160 from $85 the month prior as
high season pricing kicked in, but still four per cent lower than last year’s
October levels of $169.6.
“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 number
of hotel establishments has risen 7 per cent from 736 to 790, whilst the number
of rooms has risen 8 per cent from 134,000 to 145,000,” it said.