Throughout the first half of 2023, the United Arab Emirates exhibited it’s prominence as a global tourist destination. With UAE tourism on the rise, numbers show the nation as a hotspot for travel, residency, and business.
Record-breaking figures highlighted the achievements of the UAE’s tourism sector. The nation has consistently prioritized their tourism sector, as national strategies gear the nation towards their ambitious UAE Tourism Strategy 2031. The strategy aims to attract AED 100 billion in tourism investments, and hopes to accommodate 40 million hotel guests by 2031. Dubai welcomed 8.55 million international overnight visitors in just the first half of the year, up 20 percent from the first half of last year.
Read more: Dubai surpasses pre-pandemic international tourism levels in H1 2023
Hotels
Data released by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi stated that the Emirate’s hotels welcomed 2.4 million guests during the first half of 2023 alone. This marks a 34 percent surge in comparison to the corresponding period the previous year.
Hotels in Abu Dhabi generated revenues surpassing AED 3 billion within the same timeframe, signifying a 26 percent growth from the previous year. They recorded an average occupancy rate of 70 percent, with guests typically staying for an average of 2.7 nights.
Travel
The travel landscape was equally impressive, with Abu Dhabi airports documenting an impressive 67 percent upswing in passenger traffic. 10,258,653 passengers walked through Abu Dhabi International Airport in H1 2023, as opposed to 6,158,376 the previous year. Abu Dhabi International Airport facilitated 67,835 flights. This is a substantial 36 percent increase in contrast to the 49,919 flights recorded in the first half of 2022.
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