Tourism in the Emirates.. Exceptional performance
The Ministry of Economy confirmed Emirati The tourism sector in the country continues to achieve positive results, which enhance its contribution to the growth and sustainability of the national economy, as hotel establishments’ revenues increased to more than AED 24.6 billion during the first half of 2024, achieving a growth of 7% compared to the same period in 2023. The number of guests in hotel establishments in the seven emirates also increased to reach nearly 15.3 million guests during the first six months of 2024, with a growth rate of 10.5% compared to the same period last year.
Night view of Burj Khalifa in Dubai (AFP)
Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Chairman of the Board of Directors, said: The UAE For tourism: “The achieved indicators reflect the success of the initiatives and policies adopted by the state to develop the tourism sector according to the best international practices, and the competitive strength of the UAE tourism product at the regional and global levels. These indicators also support the achievement of the objectives of the “National Tourism Strategy 2031”, by increasing the contribution of tourism to the country’s GDP to 450 billion dirhams, and attracting 40 million guests in hotel facilities by the next decade.”
He added: “Thanks to the directives of the wise leadership, Emirati tourism has been able to continue its increasing growth in the volume of tourism revenues and hotel capacity, especially since the hotel occupancy rate reached 79.5% during the first 6 months of this year, which is among the highest in the world, as it achieved a growth rate of 3.7% compared to the same period in 2023.”
Pointing out that national efforts are continuing to enhance joint action to implement plans and strategies related to the tourism sector, and to consolidate the UAE’s leading position as one of the best tourist destinations in the world, in light of the “We the Emirates 2031” vision.
Bin Touq added that in terms of travel and aviation, the country’s airports witnessed a significant increase in the number of passengers during the first half of this year, which reflects international confidence in the quality and efficiency of travel services in the UAE, and the quality of the infrastructure of the air transport sector, especially in light of the country’s investment in development and improvement projects for the infrastructure of the aviation sector, and enhancing the airports’ capacity to accommodate larger numbers of passengers, as the total capacity of the country’s airports is estimated today at more than 160 million passengers. In addition, the UAE is linked with 188 countries around the world by cooperation agreements in the air transport sector, which allows flights to and from those countries, and enhances the country’s position as a regional and global destination for travel and aviation.
Dubai Marina area (AFP)
Hotel rooms in the country witnessed a remarkable expansion, as the total number of rooms reached 213,741 by the end of the first half of this year, achieving a growth of 3% compared to the same period in 2023. The total number of guest nights in hotel establishments in the seven emirates also increased to more than 53 million nights during the first half of 2024, with a growth rate of 10% compared to the same period last year.
Travel activity
Passenger traffic through the country’s airports recorded positive growth during the first half of 2024, with an increase of 14.2%, as the total number of passengers received by the country’s airports during the first six months of this year exceeded 71.75 million passengers, compared to 62.79 million passengers in the same period last year. The number of arrivals recorded 20 million, 274 thousand and 694 passengers, while the number of departures recorded 21 million, 90 thousand and 750 passengers, while the number of transit passengers reached 30 million, 391 thousand and 978 passengers.
