Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum on Tuesday launched  the UAE’s winter campaign, which is in line with the government strategy to boost the tourism sector’s GDP contribution by billions of dirhams.

This year’s edition of the “World’s Coolest Winter”, the annual tourism initiative of the UAE government, promises to be the largest of its kind, with a series of diverse programmes and a packed schedule of events already lined up. Visitors will be treated to recreational and cultural activities, as well as several environmental, sporting and leisure events.

“Today marks the launch of a new season of the UAE’s annual tourism campaign, ‘World’s Coolest Winter’. Our country is becoming a favoured destination, thanks to its enchanting natural beauty, architectural marvels, rich cultural heritage, and, most importantly, its warm and welcoming people,” Sheikh Mohammed said in a statement.

He noted that the UAE is already witnessing a huge influx of tourists and that they’re working towards increasing the sector’s contribution to the local economy by AED450 billion ($122.5 billion) in less than ten years.

“The national tourism sector is growing annually. Our goal is to reach AED450 billion as a contribution to the gross domestic product by 2031,” the Dubai ruler said on X (formerly known as Twitter).

The previous edition of the campaign saw tourist numbers reaching 1.4 million, up by 8% from a year earlier.

From January to September 2023, hotels across the country posted revenues of AED32.2 billion, up by 27% compared to the same period in 2022.

The number of hotel guests went up by 12% to 20.2 million during the same period, while hotel occupancy rate stood at 75%, up by 6%.

(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Brinda Darasha)

(brinda.darasha@lseg.com)