The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), announced the number of international visitors during the first half of this year, where the emirate received about 8.36 million visitors overnight, a growth of more than 3% compared to the same period last year, reflecting the essential role The tourism sector contributes to the economic growth of the emirate in general, through its significant contribution in boosting the GDP during 2020, as the most important economic tributaries of the emirate, thus consolidating Dubai's position as the most visited city in the world.

Hilal Saeed Al Marri, Director General of Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said in a statement yesterday: “The tourism sector is one of the main pillars of the growth and diversification of economic resources in Dubai. Visiting the world, according to the ambitious vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, our priorities are always to enhance the utilization of opportunities and enable the sector and develop its capabilities, so that it can contribute effectively to the total output Hint The data recorded during the first half of this year is a major catalyst for us and a strong indicator of the success of our strategy to diversify target markets and keep pace with the aspirations of visitors through a wide network of relationships and partnerships in various countries of the world. We also have government partners in Dubai. ”

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India still retains its leading position on the main market with 997,000 visitors, despite reduced capacity for flights from India and fluctuations in the local currency. While Dubai continues to establish itself as a leading destination for visitors globally, a number of innovative and comprehensive promotional campaigns have been launched in key markets to enhance the Emirate's appeal to visitors from families and couples.

Dubai's efforts to enhance its presence among the diverse segments of visitors from India have been reflected in the success of its programs dedicated to the Indian market, including the latest version of the #BeMyGuest promotional film, which has won many international awards, starring Bollywood star Universal, Shah Rukh, scored 160 million views for its third edition in weeks.

In terms of increasing tourism flows to Dubai from India, the percentage of visitors from Indian families with children increased by 10 points, from 24 to 34%, which directly contributes to the increase in GDP due to increased spending.

Saudi Arabia came in second place with a growth rate of 2% year-on-year, with 755 thousand visitors during the first six months of this year, and recorded a remarkable growth of 4.9% during the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, which indicates that Dubai continues to maintain its attractiveness For Saudi families and youth.

the third place

The UK remained in third place with 586,000 visitors, despite Britain's exit from the EU and the devaluation of the pound against the US dollar, which affected the movement of travelers from that country.

However, Dubai remained attractive to couples representing 56% of visitors and families representing 20%, an increase of 3% compared to the first half of 2018. Since both segments are highly concentrated in Dubai Tourism's strategy In the UK market, the results indicate the success of Dubai's permanent presence approach through seasonal and specialized promotional campaigns, and agreements with DTCM partners in the UK market.

Among the most prominent promotional activities carried out during the first half of this year, the campaign «Just in Dubai» to publish a promotional video in collaboration with the famous bicycle show champion, Chris Kyle, where the star appears as he wanders among many famous landmarks of Dubai. The video recorded about five million views in one week.

Dubai continues to attract Chinese visitors in increasing numbers, where the rate of increase during the first half of this year to 11%, compared to the same period last year, and the number of visitors about 501 thousand Chinese visitors, reflecting the success of the strategy «Dubai readiness to receive Chinese visitors», It has been implemented at the city level to develop the emirate's share in one of the world's largest export markets.

The strategy is based on three pillars: outreach programs aimed directly at visitors, planning customized trips for visitors in cooperation with industry partners in China, as well as enhancing the experience of the visit within the city and its readiness to receive Chinese visitors.

Bilateral relations

Dubai Tourism continues to strengthen its bilateral relations through a number of promotional campaigns designed specifically for Chinese visitors and provide them with unforgettable experiences in the city, including the introduction of the mini-program «WeChat», which is one of the most popular social networking sites in China, It has been working with industry partners to highlight the city's famous tourist destinations, such as Burj Khalifa.

The app allows users to access all information related to the highest tower in the world and book tickets to visit. Further updated and re-launched under the name of 'Dubai Mini Assistant', the program offers visitors from China the opportunity to choose from 10 digital tours including some of the most prominent locations in Dubai via their smartphones, digital tours that contribute to the expansion of the city's capabilities. Ease of visitors' accessibility is part of Dubai's strategy to “welcome Chinese visitors”.

In addition to cooperation with the electronic payment platform «Alipay», which belongs to the Chinese e-commerce giant «Alibaba» and the «Fliegi», as well as the partnership recently concluded with the platform «Tektuk» to launch promotional activities.

Omani Market

The Omani market, one of the fastest growing major markets, came in fifth place, with a strong increase of 28% with 499 thousand visitors, in clear evidence of the impact of the campaigns and promotional efforts launched by «Dubai Tourism» in the Gulf region Dubai is a major destination for Gulf visitors, especially during the festive season.In order to maintain Dubai's appeal to visitors from the GCC, Dubai Tourism is organizing a series of ongoing promotional campaigns offering content tailored to each market. One of these campaigns is the launch of the #ThisisDubai campaign on the global Tech Talk platform, inviting users in the GCC to share their unique stories about their visit to Dubai, for a chance to win a fantastic holiday in the emirate. The campaign has attracted around 10,000 videos, with over 30 million views in a short time.

Dubai was able to maintain its attractiveness for Russian visitors.Russia came in sixth place with 375,000 visitors, complementing the successes achieved in 2018, based on the facilitated procedures for obtaining a visa for citizens of the Russian Federation.

For the first time, a reality-TV-propaganda film, “To Dubai with Love,” was produced for the first time, with five celebrity couples presenting examples of how to spend a wonderful holiday in Dubai for newlyweds. The event attracted huge crowd momentum, with 60 pairs returning to Dubai to spend Valentine's Day in 2019. Dubai Tourism continued its promotional programs from February to Spring, which included tailor-made messages Russian visitors to Dubai tourism.

The United States came in seventh place after Russia, with 329 thousand visitors, a slight increase from 327 thousand visitors last year, supported by marketing efforts and the establishment of new partnerships with five companies specialized in the field of travel and tourism in the United States, during the first half of 2019, and that To promote awareness of the Emirate of Dubai and promote tourism packages and special deals offered to visitors from the United States.

Eighth place

Germany came in eighth place with a growth rate of 5%, with the number of visitors reached 316 thousand visitors, followed by Pakistan in the ninth with a growth rate of 3% through 253 thousand visitors, while the Philippines jumped three centers at once, to become tenth, through 216 thousand visitors with a growth rate of 29%, and is now one of the fastest growing emerging markets this year.

In the first half of 2019, Western European countries emerged as a strong contributor to overnight visitor numbers by 21%. In this context, the French market grew by 10%, while the growth rate from the market Italian to 5%, Dutch 1%.

Visitors from the GCC region accounted for 18% and South Asia 16%. North and Southeast Asia accounted for 12%, reflecting the growing interest in these markets towards Dubai.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region maintained a steady growth rate of 10%, with the Egyptian market in particular ranked 13th with a growth rate of 10%, while the CIS region, Eastern European countries and Russia registered a growth rate of 9%. North and South America contributed 7%, Africa 5%, and the fastest growth from one region exceeded 9%.

The African presence has been boosted by double digits in the Nigerian market, one of the fastest growing emerging markets, by 28%, making it for the first time among the top 20 exporting markets in the first half of this year. The proportion of visitors from the region of Australia was 2%.

LONDON hotels

The period between January and June 2019 saw the opening of several hotels to enhance the capabilities of the hospitality sector in Dubai.

The average occupancy in Dubai hotels during the first half of this year, 76%, where hotel establishments recorded 15.71 million tourist nights during the same period, an increase of 5%, compared to the same period last year.

The total number of hotel rooms in Dubai reached 118,345 rooms, distributed among 714 hotel establishments, by the end of June 2019, an increase of 6%, reflecting the investor confidence in the tourism sector.

Five-star and four-star hotels accounted for 34% and 25%, respectively, of the total number of hotel rooms available in the emirate. While the proportion of hotel apartments in all categories of luxury, luxury and regular 21%.

China and Oman record strong growth with over 1 million visitors.

Egypt and France consolidate their positions in the top 15 markets with 10% growth each.

The Philippines is one of the fastest growing emerging markets with 29% growth, followed by Nigeria with 28%.