Dubai’s successful tourism rebound continues to inspire global tourism recovery with the city welcoming 6.17 million international overnight visitors from January to May 2022, a 197 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase from the same five-month period in 2021, which saw the destination attracting just over two million international travelers
The latest tourism data was revealed by Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) at its first ‘City Briefing’ for 2022, a bi-annual event that provides an in-depth industry outlook to stakeholders and partners, and discusses future strategies to further reinforce the city’s position as a global hub for business, investment, talent, and tourism. The event was attended by more than 1,200 key executives from across the tourism ecosystem including aviation, travel, hospitality, and retail sectors.
Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) commented: “The remarkable vision and leadership of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, have always been an inspiration to us all, and this is reflected in the city’s continued success, as we focus on enhancing its position as a global hub for economy and tourism. We are building on the massive momentum generated by the hugely successful Expo 2020 to drive growth across all our tourism pillars from cultural to culinary experiences while working towards achieving the ambitious goal of making Dubai the most visited destination and the city of the future that will be the best place in the world to live and work.
Dubai hotels boast exceptional performance
The new tourism figures from DET show that overall, Dubai hotels maintained an average occupancy level of 76 percent from January to May 2022 compared to 62 percent during the corresponding period in 2021. According to data from hotel management analytics firm STR, Dubai ranked No.1 globally in hotel occupancy, ahead of other international destinations including New York (61 percent), London (60 percent), and Paris (57 percent), for the January-April 2022 period.
With its multifaceted offering, Dubai remains a popular destination, further validating the successful global campaigns run by DET throughout the year. Since Q4 2021, there have been over 200 million searches for travel to Dubai, and in May 2022 searches and bookings for the destination reached almost pre-pandemic levels.
