Tag Archives: Dubai Tourism

Dubai welcomed 9.31 million international overnight visitors from January to June 2024, a 9% increase over the 8.55 million tourist arrivals in the first half of 2023, according to data published by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET). Following a landmark 2023, when the city hosted 17.15 million international overnight visitors, Dubai has continued to sustain its strong tourism momentum. The growth in the first six months of this year puts the city on track for a record performance in 2024. Guided by the visionary leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and driven by DET’s efforts in collaboration with stakeholders, the rise in international visitation aligns with the ambitious goal of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 to further consolidate Dubai’s position as a leading global destination for business and leisure. His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, said: “Guided by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s strategic vision, Dubai’s tourism sector continues to demonstrate its robust growth potential and attractive proposition for global travellers. With its sustained growth, Dubai is setting the standard for cities worldwide, in line with the objective of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 to establish Dubai as one of the world’s top urban economies.” His Highness urged all industry stakeholders to expand partnerships with key markets, explore new opportunities and work to enhance Dubai’s value offering by creating rich and memorable experiences. “The strong tourism growth achieved by Dubai in the first …

Accommodation and food services activities sector posted a growth of 3.8%, with a value of AED 4.7 billion. Its contribution to the GDP reached 4.1%, driving economic growth by 0.2 percentage points. According to data from the Department of Economy and Tourism, Dubai’s hotels maintained high occupancy levels, with an average hotel occupancy rate of 83%. Dubai welcomed 5.2 million international visitors during the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 11% compared to the same period in 2023. His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, reiterated that the emirate’s economy continues to grow steadily and showcase robust economic indicators that exemplify the vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The strength of Dubai’s economy is amply demonstrated in the 3.2% economic growth it achieved in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year, by adding more than AED 115 billion in GDP terms, Sheikh Hamdan said. His Highness said it is especially commendable that the emirate’s successes in this regard highlight the combined efforts and teamwork of various stakeholders to realise the objectives of the emirate’s comprehensive development plans for 2033, specially the Dubai economic Agenda (D33) and Dubai Social Agenda 2033, which serve to enhance overall standards of wellbeing and quality of life while consolidating Dubai’s standing as a global economic capital and its attractiveness as a destination for foreign investments. Sheikh Hamdan said: “Dubai is progressing in accordance with a clear vision whose …

Starting from 1st July 2024 to 21st July 2024, travellers who purchase an Emirates return ticket in First Class or Business Class will be able to enjoy a two-night stay at 5-star luxury hotel JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai. Customers booked in Premium Economy Class or Economy Class can enjoy a complimentary one-night stay.* This special offer is valid for all return tickets to or stopping over in Dubai for more than 24 hours, for customers traveling between 4th July 2024 and 15th September 2024. Emirates is helping holidaymakers planning to visit or stopover in Dubai make the most of their summer with complimentary stays at one of the city’s most iconic hotels. Whatever their preferences, visitors to Dubai can enjoy the city’s beautiful beaches, futuristic architecture, cutting-edge shopping concepts, a rich gastronomy scene, and much more. Dubai serves as the perfect summer destination with a plethora of indoor activities across every part of the city. Adnan Kazim, Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates Airline said: “Visitors to Dubai are really spoilt for choice in the summer. With the city’s annual entertainment and shopping festival, Dubai Summer Surprises underway, shoppers and tourists will get to experience an endless array of activities and attractions. As an added incentive, Emirates is providing complimentary hotel stays for customers traveling to and through Dubai, giving travellers another reason to visit our home city, whether for the first time or on repeat. It’s also part of our commitment to supporting Dubai’s solid growth trajectory as a year-round, world-class tourism destination.” Issam Kazim, CEO of the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said: “Dubai is on an unstoppable journey to elevate our global tourism …

Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) signed a pioneering Memorandum of Understanding with Mastercard to form a “Digital City Partnership” to further accelerate the emirate’s economic growth in line with the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33. A global first at a city level, the strategic alliance paves the way for Dubai to harness Mastercard’s multi-rail payments network and data-driven digital commerce technology, which connects over 100 million merchants globally across all sectors and segments to address key priorities of the D33 Agenda. The MoU will lead to the development and implementation of a multi-year Digital Partnership programme in Dubai, focusing on: Enabling growth of trade and exports: The collaboration aims to enable new international trade opportunities for businesses and expand export capabilities, leveraging Mastercard’s expertise in facilitating secure and efficient payment transactions. Developing SMEs and enabling innovation: The partnership will prioritise the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), providing them with digital tools, resources, and mentorship to foster innovation, competitiveness, and sustainability. Attracting and developing talent: Dubai and Mastercard will work together to attract and nurture Emirati and global talents in the digital sector, fostering the development of a skilled workforce equipped with the capabilities necessary to drive the city’s digital economy forward. Accelerating growth across the tourism ecosystem: The Digital City Partnership aims to leverage digital technologies to further enhance Dubai’s tourism industry. Implementing innovative payment solutions and improving visitor experiences will support Dubai’s vision to become a top-three global destination for visitors across leisure, business and specialised services. The visionary commitment of Dubai’s leadership, coupled with the depth and magnitude of this digital partnership, provides a conducive environment to deliver scalable and inclusive use-cases …

For the fourth successive month this year, Dubai’s tourism sector delivered a stellar performance, welcoming 6.02 million international visitors from January-April, an 18% YoY increase, compared to 5.10 million visitors during the same four-month period in 2022. Dubai’s hotel sector has also demonstrated resilience and strength, with an average occupancy of 80% during the January-April period this year, among the highest in the world, exceeding the 76% level achieved by city hotels during the corresponding period in 2022 and nearly matching the pre-pandemic 83% occupancy in 2019. According to a STR Global Hotel Monitoring Update, Dubai ranked first in occupancy, with a rate of 79.9%, only 2.9 percentage points below the pre-pandemic levels of 82.7%, placing it ahead of other global destinations like London, New York, Los Angeles and Paris. The report also revealed that Dubai ranked first in Gross Operating Profit per Available Room (GOPAR), with a rate of USD145 (AED530), just 9% below pre-pandemic levels, followed by Paris (USD 113) and Singapore (USD 102) respectively. Hotel supply reached 148,949 rooms in 814 hotel establishments at the end of April 2023, a 26% growth over the pre-pandemic figures of 118,449 rooms in 722 hotel establishments at the end of April 2019. Moreover, the average length of stay by guests has increased by 13% to four nights compared to 3.5 nights in 2019, indicating Dubai’s appeal as a destination for longer-stay travellers. According to data from industry expert Amadeus, search and booking volumes for Dubai remained steady from September 2021 to April 2023, with searches and bookings to Dubai during January to April 2023 nearing pre-pandemic levels and especially close to the high numbers seen during the Expo and pre-World …

With momentum continuing to accelerate across Dubai’s tourism industry, the Dubai College of Tourism (DCT), a part of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), is ramping up efforts to increase the number of professional tour guides to cater to Dubai’s diverse visitor profile, further enhance the overall tourism experience and maintain the city’ position as one of the world’s most recommended travel destinations. The latest drive by DCT is to encourage talented individuals to pursue a career as a tour guide. The College runs a world-class year-round training programme for tour guides with the aim of helping prospective candidates obtain a valid Dubai tour guide license, which is a pre-requisite for those interested in taking up this occupation. The training programme hosted by DCT is delivered entirely online and designed to make the process of getting the Dubai tour guide license as convenient as possible, while teaching participants how to correctly present Dubai and its culture to international visitors, as well as key hospitality skills. As Dubai continues to lead global tourism recovery with campaigns and initiatives worldwide to further consolidate and sustain its global appeal in both existing and emerging source markets, DCT envisages that the arrival of visitors from a range of nationalities and cultural backgrounds will create high demand for tour guides, especially those with specific language skills including Portuguese, Spanish, Bulgarian, Serbian, Albanian, Slovakian, Czech, Poland, Romanian and Hungarian. Essa Bin Hadher, General Manager, Dubai College of Tourism, commented: “With the steady increase in global travellers making Dubai their destination of choice and with the in-dustry continuing to regain its vibrancy, it is crucial to deliver exceptional visitor experiences across the board in line with …

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) held its first bi-annual ‘City Briefing’ for 2021 at the newly built Dubai Exhibition Centre, highlighting the sector’s promising performance since the reopening of the city to international tourists a year ago.  As efforts intensified across the tourism ecosystem to accelerate momentum in this landmark year for Dubai and the UAE, the forum featured a detailed presentation on Expo 2020, the multi-faceted mega event which runs from 1 October, 2021 to 31 March 2022, as well as insights into domestic and global developments and marketing campaigns worldwide aimed at reinforcing Dubai’s profile as a safe, must-visit destination and the world’s best city to live and work in. Presided by His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai Tourism, the forum hosted over 1,000 key executives from leading establishments in the hospitality, travel, and tourism sectors. It was held within the framework of Dubai Tourism’s regular dialogue with key industry leaders to exchange insights and work with them to ensure the industry is seamlessly aligned with tourism growth initiatives and strategies. By holding the forum at the Dubai Exhibition Centre with precautionary guidelines being comprehensively observed, Dubai Tourism sought to highlight the enormous significance of Expo 2020 to Dubai’s tourism industry and the gathering pace of recovery in the events sector. HE Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai Tourism, commented: “Dubai has continued to lead global tourism recovery and has constantly set new precedents in how to safely yet effectively open internationally and critically stay open. Inspired by the visionary leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, the …

Dubai College of Tourism (DCT), part of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), has announced its second successive Summer Training Programme for students between the ages of 16-19. The distance learning online programme of Medyaf aims to increase Emiratisation within the tourism industry and provides students with relevant information and skills about the sector, as well as introducing the promising opportunities it offers for its citizens and their role in supporting the industry’s success and prosperity. Medyaf was established as part of DCT’s industry nationalisation initiative to lay the groundwork for talented Emiratis to join the city’s tourist-facing workforce. The latest training programme aims to empower students to enhance their knowledge and skills over the summer period, while earning an accredited training certificate. The 2021 Summer Training Programme will be implemented over four consecutive courses with each course taking place for a period of five days. The courses include workshops delivered live by experienced speakers with interactive games and educational activities, and will be held as per the following schedule; 4-8 July 2021, 11-15 July 2021, 25-29 July, and 1-5 August.

Dubai Sustainable Tourism (DST) part of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism)  to further Dubai’s position as one of the world’s leading sustainable tourism destinations, launches ‘Get into the Green Scene’. The initiative is aimed at Dubai residents and visitors to raise awareness of the city’s sustainable attractions and highlight the ease of incorporating sustainable practices into everyday life. The launch of the ‘Get into the Green Scene’ initiative includes a sustainability calendar, featuring a series of environmental days throughout the year and ways in which people can engage within the theme of that calendar day. Included are simple, but fun, eco-conscious actions that promote the city’s natural spaces and hidden gems, as well as spotlights advocacy organisations, partner and stakeholders that are working towards a more sustainable planet. This initiative is just one example of DST bringing together public and private entities to further strengthen the city’s positioning as a forward-thinking, world class destination for sustainable tourism. Moreover, it is also aligned with the recent announcement from HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE on the “Year of the 50th” campaign, where sustainability is one of four strategic pillars that will advance the country, support wellbeing and livelihood as well as proactive development and opportunities. DST is well-placed to drive these objectives forward successfully through its strong partnership network across the city. Yousuf Lootah, Vice Chairman of Dubai Sustainable Tourism, commented on the launch of the initiative, “We are very proud to launch the ‘Get into the Green Scene’, which promotes the ease in which visitors and residents can embrace sustainability-minded behaviours. It also highlights the breadth of work that is being …

Directive from Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) mandates that all hotels comply with the ‘Sustainability Requirements for Hotel Establishments’ by the deadline of 1 July 2021, as set by Dubai Sustainable Tourism (DST), an initiative to further enhance Dubai’s position as one of the world’s leading sustainable tourism destinations. Under the directive, hotels must also resume monthly submission of carbon emission drivers. The system has the long-term objective of advancing sustainability performance across the sector.  Back in 2019 Dubai Tourism led by DST trained 528 hotels on the implementation of these sustainability standards and currently inviting hotels for a refresher webinar ahead of July 2021. Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the deadline was extended for an additional 12 month, a decision that Dubai Tourism took to strengthen the foundations for recovery of the hospitality sector. The progress on implementation of the mandatory standards will be tracked by hotels and audited by DST. Yousuf Lootah, Vice Chairman of Dubai Sustainable Tourism, said: “Over the past year, the strength of the city’s tourism industry is reflected in the safe and successful reopening of Dubai to domestic and international visitors. In alignment with the city’s wider carbon reduction strategy, we know that tourism can also be an area where Dubai truly sets the benchmark at a global level with forward-thinking sustainability and corporate social responsibility practices. We strongly encourage hotels to comply with the 19 Sustainability Requirements set by Dubai Tourism and provide Carbon Calculator submissions by 1 July. We know that with the ongoing support of the relevant government bodies these hotel establishments can play a huge part in achieving the overall carbon emission reduction target over …