22 May 2016
JEDDAH: Dubai is a top choice for Saudi tourists and their number is expected to increase by almost 100 percent, that is 2.5 million, by 2020, an Emirati official has said, citing current economic forecasts.
"The number of Saudi tourists in Dubai was 1.5 million in 2015," Issam Kazim, CEO of the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, was quoted as saying by local media on Saturday.
Kazim said that visitors to Dubai from the GCC countries topped the list, making up 25 percent of the total number of tourists from around the world in the first quarter of this year, with 456,000 Saudis visiting between January and March, a 14 percent increase as compared to the corresponding period last year.
Next came Oman with 322,000 tourists, demonstrating an increase of 32 percent, Kuwait maintained its position in the top ten list at 119,000, while Qatar showed an increase of 26 percent.
Kazim said the Indian subcontinent maintained its position with 17 percent of all tourists to Dubai in the first quarter of this year, totaling 467,000, and came second place on the top ten list of principal country tourists to the UAE.
The number of visitors to Dubai from the United States was recorded at 166,000 for the first quarter of this year while China saw a rise of 4 percent. Iran was the only country which saw a decline in the number of visitors to Dubai.
"Markets that are within four hours of Dubai by plane, especially the GCC countries and India, are still an important focus for us. Dubai tends to attract a huge number of tourists because of efforts to promote tourism potential based on the wide list of festivals and other attractive events," he said.
JEDDAH: Dubai is a top choice for Saudi tourists and their number is expected to increase by almost 100 percent, that is 2.5 million, by 2020, an Emirati official has said, citing current economic forecasts.
"The number of Saudi tourists in Dubai was 1.5 million in 2015," Issam Kazim, CEO of the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, was quoted as saying by local media on Saturday.
Kazim said that visitors to Dubai from the GCC countries topped the list, making up 25 percent of the total number of tourists from around the world in the first quarter of this year, with 456,000 Saudis visiting between January and March, a 14 percent increase as compared to the corresponding period last year.
Next came Oman with 322,000 tourists, demonstrating an increase of 32 percent, Kuwait maintained its position in the top ten list at 119,000, while Qatar showed an increase of 26 percent.
Kazim said the Indian subcontinent maintained its position with 17 percent of all tourists to Dubai in the first quarter of this year, totaling 467,000, and came second place on the top ten list of principal country tourists to the UAE.
The number of visitors to Dubai from the United States was recorded at 166,000 for the first quarter of this year while China saw a rise of 4 percent. Iran was the only country which saw a decline in the number of visitors to Dubai.
"Markets that are within four hours of Dubai by plane, especially the GCC countries and India, are still an important focus for us. Dubai tends to attract a huge number of tourists because of efforts to promote tourism potential based on the wide list of festivals and other attractive events," he said.
© Arab News 2016
