Dubai
Dubai Alex Block/Unsplash

Dubai marked a 9% increase in international visitors from January to June 2024 as the emirate welcomed 9.31 million people from across the globe, as per the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET). Last year, Dubai welcomed 17.15 million visitors and recorded 8.55 million tourist arrivals in the first half of 2023.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai credited this improvement to Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's strategic vision.

"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," Sheikh Hamdan was quoted as saying by WAM.

He went on to urge "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 Crown Prince of Dubai emphasized that the strong tourism growth in Dubai shows the emirate's success in creating effective partnerships and global connections, adding that each year, Dubai strengthens its position as a top global tourism destination.

The city is dedicated to keeping this positive trend going and increasing tourism's impact on its economy. By improving infrastructure and offering excellent services, Dubai aims to set new records and achieve even more in 2024.

Helal Saeed Almarri, Director-General of DET, said this robust performance, reinforced by global recognition, validates the ambition and agility driving Dubai's tourism and wider economy.

"Our success stems from a diversified market approach, strong public-private partnerships, liberal visa policies, and alternative growth pathways, all catalysts for the continued surge in both leisure and business visitation, along with increasing levels of investment and inflows of global talent," he said.

In the first six months of 2024, visitors from nearby GCC and MENA markets made up 26% of the total, with 1.27 million from GCC (14%) and 1.09 million from MENA (12%). Western Europe contributed 20% of the visitors, marking a total of 1.89 million.

South Asia was another major source, with 1.62 million visitors (17%), while CIS and Eastern Europe accounted for 1.37 million (15%). North-East and South-East Asia increased their share from 8% at the start of the year to 10% by mid-2024, reaching 896,000 visitors, thanks to a strong recovery from China.

Other regions also marked more visitors: the Americas with 617,000 (7%), Africa with 404,000 (4%), and Australasia with 154,000 (2%).

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