Monday, Apr 25, 2016

Dubai: Dubai attracted 4.1 million overnight visitors in the first three months of 2016, a 5.1 per cent increase over the same period last year, Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) said in a statement on Monday. The increase in visitor numbers was driven by “strong double digit growth” from the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] countries and India, Dubai Tourism said.

Helal Saeed Al Merri, Director General of Dubai Tourism, stated that “markets within the four hour flight path, specifically the GCC and India, remain a critical focus for our ongoing visitation attraction efforts as build towards our growth targets”.

The GCC maintained its position as Dubai’s leading feeder region, delivering 25 per cent of all overnight visitation to the emirate in the first quarter. Visitors from Saudi Arabia rose 14 per cent to 476,000 in the January to March 2016 period compared to the same time last year, making it the top source country, followed by Oman, which increased by 32 per cent with 322,000 visitors, Kuwait and Qatar.

The Subcontinent was also a key driver of tourism volumes. India increased 17 per cent in the first quarter, with 467,000 overnight visitors, making it the second largest feeder country, followed by Pakistan within the region.

Visitors from Western Europe continued to be the second largest source region with a 23 per cent visitor share overall in the first quarter, despite challenging global market conditions and a strong US dollar, Dubai Tourism said.

There was a 10 per cent year-on-year quarter growth from the United Kingdom, with 334,000 visitors. Germany brought in 171,000 visitors, while France brought in 76,000 visitors, flat compared to the first quarter of 2015, and Italy grew 5 per cent, with 69,000 visitors.

“Global travel in the first three months of this year has been impacted by geopolitical, social and economic uncertainties, with most markets experiencing flat to negative growth. I see Dubai’s highly agile, fragmented source market approach, the strength of our government, public and private sector partnerships, as well as our effective promotional and marketing outreach, as having been fundamental to fuelling overall growth,” Al Merri said.

He added that festivals and other events and new retail destinations and attractions give visitors more reasons to return to Dubai again. “This is only expected to increase in prevalence throughout the year as a number of flagship projects and initiatives come on line, adding more depth and diversity to the Dubai offering.”

In the first quarter, there was a 4 per cent growth in visitor numbers from China, 25 per cent from the Philippines, and 9 per cent from Canada. Dubai Tourism did not give the actual figures.

However, there were declines from Iran, Egypt, Russia, Jordan, Australia and the Netherlands.

There were 676 establishments in operation in Dubai as of March 2016, with 98,949 rooms across hotels and hotel apartments.

“Tourism-related infrastructure and capacity enhancement investment is expected to accelerate during 2016 through more segment-specific offerings such as culture and heritage attractions and family-oriented theme parks, in addition to continued focus on enhancing the business environment that underscores Dubai’s pursuit of becoming the number one destination for travel, business and events,” Al Merri stated.

Staff Report

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