Dubai Received 14.36 Million International Visitors In 2022

In comparison to 2021, Dubai welcomed almost 15 million international visitors (doubled the number) in 2022. According to the latest data published by Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), the emirate received 14.36 million visitors in 2022, growing 97 per cent year on year from the 7.28 million tourist arrivals in 2021.

With this, the emirate has closed in on its pre-pandemic visitation of 16.73 million in 2019.

Moreover, average hotel occupancy in 2022 stood at 73 per cent — one of the highest in the world — rising from 67 per cent in 2021. The figure is just short of the 75 per cent occupancy in the pre-pandemic period of 2019.

The latest statistics come weeks after the city’s ranking as the No. 1 global destination in the Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards 2023 for the second successive year — only the second city in history to achieve the feat. The latest data from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) shows that global tourist travel in 2022 was 37 per cent lower than in 2019.

After the pandemic, the Middle East witnessed the strongest relative increase with arrivals climbing to 83 percent. Dubai exceeded both global and regional barometers of recovery, with visitors to the city in 2022 reaching 86 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, said: “The exceptional growth in the inflow of visitors reflects Dubai’s continued rise as one of the world’s most connected cities and its determination to lead the world in hospitality infrastructure and service levels.

“The high growth shows the world that we never rest on our achievements and constantly work to raise our benchmarks. I am confident that Dubai will be an even greater catalyst for the growth of global tourism and travel connectivity in the years ahead.”

Helal Saeed Almarri, director-general of the DET, said the latest statistics show the “extraordinary progress” made by the city over the past two years.

“While the global economy remains in a state of flux, Dubai has emerged as a clear leader in the tourism industry. The robust performance is a testament to Dubai’s growing role as the vanguard of global tourism recovery. The positive momentum also shows that tourism remains a significant contributor to the city’s economic growth and sustainable development, further driving the goal of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 to reinforce Dubai’s status as one of the world’s top three cities for tourism and business.”

The Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan aims to expand the emirate’s tourism offering by over 100 per cent. It will launch new initiatives aligned with the UAE Tourism Strategy, which seeks to attract 40 million guests by 2031 and increase the tourism sector’s contribution to the emirate’s GDP to Dh450 billion.