ALBAWABA - Data released by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) shows that after a historic 17.15 million foreign overnight visitors in 2023, the city celebrated 9.31 million international overnight visitors from January to June 2024. This represents a nine percent rise compared to the 8.55 million tourist arrivals in the first half of 2023.
Dubai began 2024 on an upward trajectory as it was awarded the top travel destination worldwide for a record third year in a row in January's Tripadvisor Travelers' Choice Awards. According to Gulf News, it is the first city to get this special recognition.
During the first half of the year, Dubai was recognized as the most popular tourist destination in the Middle East by the World Travel Awards. Additionally, Dubai International Airport and Mina Rashid were recognized as the most popular cruise port and airport in the Middle East for the year 2024, respectively.
According to the most recent statistics by DET, the hotel industry in the emirate continues to perform very well across all hospitality parameters from January to June. These indicators include occupancy, average daily rate (ADR), revenue per available room (RevPAR), and visitors' duration of stay, all of which were among the highest in the world.
Dubai hotels' average occupancy of 78.7% is 1.0 percentage points higher than 2023's 77.7%. Compared to 2023, occupied room nights grew 3% and ADR jumped 4%. RevPAR climbed by 6%, while total available rooms in Dubai reached 150,879 by June 2024, up from 148,689 in June 2023, with the number of establishments rising to 823 from 810.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, stated that “guided by Sheikh Mohammed’s strategic vision, Dubai's tourism sector continues to demonstrate its robust growth potential and attractive proposition for global travelers,” adding that “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.”
