Visitor numbers to Dubai increased by 9.3% in 2012, with the town welcoming greater than 10 million visitors over a three hundred and sixty five days period for the 1st time in its history.
The results were announced by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).
Increases in key indicators including hotel guest numbers, nights, average length of stay and hotel revenues, demonstrate Dubai’s strengthening position as one of several world’s superior destinations.
H.E. Helal Almarri, Director General of DTCM, said: “For the primary time in our city’s history we’ve crossed the 10 million threshold in visitor numbers. This continual year-on-year growth is because of just a few factors including the coordinated city-wide destination management strategy; our world-class infrastructure; our location on the crossroads of East and West; and our unrelenting efforts to improve our already diverse and compelling tourism offer.”
Key indicators of Dubai’s success in attracting visitors in 2012 include:
• Figures for Hotel Guests and Cruise Passengers rising to approximately 10.16 million – a rise of 9.3% on 2011 figures
• Hotel Guests numbering 9.96 million – up 9.5% compared with 9.1 million in 2011
• Guest Nights increasing by 14%, numbering 37,445,453 in 2012, when compared with 32,848,190 in 2011
• Hotel Revenues increasing by 17.9% at Dhs18.82bn.
The status of Dubai as a location of choice for hotel operators is demonstrated by an influx of recent hotel openings during 2012, with the variety of hotel establishments increasing from 575 to 599.
Openings in 2012 included five-star properties consisting of Jumeirah Creekside, Fairmont The Palm and the JW Marriott Marquis, and various new Hotel Apartments with rooms within the latter category increasing by 10% to greater than 23,000. But the additional supply has not had an adverse effect on room rates.
Combined with the pointy increase in hotel revenues and a growth inside the Average Length of Stay, it is more likely to see more hotel operators decide to build in Dubai and numerous new properties are slated to open during 2013 including Sofitel Dubai The Palm Resort & Spa and The Oberoi Dubai on Sheikh Zayed Road.
On the figures, H.E. Helal Almarri commented: “The growth across each indicator is a welcome confirmation of Dubai’s ever-increasing appeal and a testament to the aggressive marketing and promotional agenda of DTCM in positioning Dubai because the major tourist hub of the region and a worldwide destination of choice. The increasing average length of stay and the rising variety of hotel apartments is evidence of a growing trend in people and families visiting Dubai for longer periods – historically town was seen by some markets as a stopover destination but in recent times it has become the destination.”
Arab markets continue to offer an important percentage of Dubai’s overall visitor numbers and 2012 saw 30% more visitors from Saudi Arabia, that’s the city’s no 1 source market. Europe contributes over 1 / 4 of the city’s hotel guests and the past year saw a considerable 54% rise inside the selection of Russians coming to Dubai. an important increase in Chinese visitors coming to the town has also been seen, with a 28% rise inside the period demonstrating the appeal that town has to the burgeoning middle class of China. The Chinese market will stay a key focus of Dubai’s marketing efforts because the city looks to capitalise at the circa Dhs202bn that Chinese travellers spend per year worldwide.
H.E. Helal Almarri continued: “The growth in visitors is partly associated with the increasing cross-border trade and investment ties that the town is making with growing economies which include China. As these links continue to develop, visitors from these nations will continue to rise.
“It’s encouraging to look that visitor numbers from each of the markets within which DTCM has a representative office continue to swell, demonstrating the role that our overseas offices play in helping to drive growth in both intra-regional traffic and in arrivals from other key source markets comparable to India, the united kingdom, the united states, Russia, Germany and China.”
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