Dubai may break tourism records in 2023 – Emirates NBD

Dubai may break tourism records in 2023 – Emirates NBD

Dubai received 3.1 million visitors in the first two months of 2023, with numbers exceeding pre-pandemic levels in the month of February. the strong start to year may see Dubai break its record for visitor numbers, which was set in 2019 when the emirate received 16.73 million visitors, according to Emirates NBD.

The number of visitors in January was up 50% year-on-year (YoY), but was still 9% below pre-pandemic levels. In February however, there were 1.63 million visitors, up 35% year-on-year and up 7% on pre-pandemic levels.

Western Europe was the largest source of visitors overall in January and February, making up 22% of the total volume, followed by the GCC countries and South Asia, each making up 16%, Emirates NBD said in an update.

India was the largest source of tourists, with 401,000 visitors in January and February, followed by Russia with 229,000, Oman with 201,000, the UK with 196,000 and Saudi Arabia with 183,000.

Visitor numbers from Saudi Arabia are still around one-third below pre-pandemic levels for January and February, while the number of visitors from Oman was 15% above Jan-Feb 2019 levels.

China, one of the largest sources of visitors to Dubai in the last decade, recorded 52,000 visitors in January and