The United Arab Emirates' tourism revenues were 19 billion dirhams ($5.17 billion) in the first half of 2022, its vice president said on Sunday in a tweet.

Numbers of hotel guests rose 42% year on year to 12 million, and the expectations is for "a strong tourism recovery in the upcoming winter season" said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who is also the UAE's prime minister and ruler of Dubai.

(Reporting by Moataz Mohamed and Omar Fahmy; editing by John Stonestreet)