Dubai: International tourism sees healthy 32% growth with 7.28m visitors in 2021

Dubai: International tourism sees healthy 32% growth with 7.28m visitors in 2021

Dubai welcomed 7.28 million international overnight visitors between January and December 2021, a 32 per cent growth compared to the year-ago period. According to the latest data published by the emirate’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), international visits to the city surpassed 3.4 million visitors in the fourth quarter of 2021, achieving 74 per cent of the total pre-pandemic tourist arrivals of Q4 2019, and paving the way for hotels in Dubai to deliver a stellar fourth quarter performance that surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Most tourists to the emirate came from India (910,000 visitors, up 5.3 per cent year-on-year), Saudi Arabia (491,000, up 22.8 per cent), Russia (444,000, up 50.3 per cent) and the UK (420,000, up 7.1 per cent). Robust international visitation was boosted by strong tourism arrivals from regional markets. MENA and GCC markets collectively contributed to 26 per cent of the total volumes, reinforcing Dubai’s continued appeal to travellers from proximity markets. Western Europe accounted for 22 per cent of total visitors in 2021, with visitation led by UK, followed by France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. South Asia contributed 18 per cent of the international visitation with Russia, CIS and Eastern Europe together making a 15