Dubai welcomed 4.67 million international overnight visitors in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, compared to 3.97 million tourists during Q1 2022, marking a 17 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth and the city’s best Q1 performance since the pandemic.
The data place the emirate firmly on track to becoming the most visited international destination, according to the latest data published by Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET).
HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, said: “The remarkable growth in international visitation achieved by Dubai in the first quarter of 2023 demonstrates the city’s emergence as one of the key destinations leading the way in the rebound of the global tourism sector.”
“This achievement has been made possible by the far-reaching vision of the leadership to transform Dubai into one of the world’s fastest-growing metropolises and the globe’s pre-eminent hub for travel, talent, entrepreneurship and investment. The Dubai Economic Agenda recently launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, charts an ambitious new path for Dubai to enhance its contributions to shaping the future of the global economy.
“The tourism sector is not only the strongest pillars of our economy but also a key enabler of Dubai’s distinctive role in the world as a bridge between markets, cultures and regions. In the years ahead, Dubai will continue to introduce new pathbreaking initiatives to offer a distinctive proposition for travelers and achieve its goal of becoming the world’s best place to live, visit, work and invest in,” he added.
The latest industry results – announced at the ongoing 30th edition of Arabian Travel Market in Dubai World Trade Centre, positions Dubai as the fastest recovering destination globally, achieving 98 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in Q1 2023, and exceeding the projection made by the United Nations World Trade Organisation that international tourist arrivals could reach between 80-95 per cent of pre-pandemic levels this year, especially in Europe and the Middle East.
The number of visitors in Q1 2023 was just two percentage points short of pre-pandemic volume of 4.75 million tourists that arrived in Dubai in the first three months of 2019, a remarkable achievement since turning the tide in July 2020 by reopening the city to international tourists, and in spite of current global economic headwinds. The industry performance also capped an exceptional first quarter for Dubai, which saw the city being crowned again as the No.1 global destination in Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards 2023, making it only the second time in history a city has won the coveted award for two years in a row.
Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, commented: “The coming decade will see our industry going through extraordinary phases of transformation, in terms of infrastructure, technology, attractions and experiences, as we focus on achieving the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda 2033.
“To maintain Dubai’s global appeal as the first-choice destination for travelers, we will continue to follow the multi-pronged blueprint that largely contributed to our success in 2022 – evolving the destination promise, a multi-geographic approach to markets, constant international outreach through global campaigns, hosting international MICE, business and leisure events, and further improving stakeholder relationships.
“As we look ahead to further accelerating momentum in our tourism sector, the pillars of sustainability, gastronomy, trade, and technology will form the foundation of our future success. Notably, this year is declared as UAE’s ‘Year of Sustainability,’ marking a major milestone for us, as the city prepares to host COP28, the UN Climate Change Conference. Sustainability will form the core of all that we do, incorporating sustainable practices into every aspect of the visitor experience to advance our journey towards becoming the world’s best city to live and work in.”
Strong rebound
Dubai’s traditional source markets delivered solid tourism volumes during the first quarter of the year with key regions continuing to make an impact on international visitation, further underscoring the success of the city’s diversified multi-geographic strategy. GCC and Mena combined was the top region, collectively contributing to 29 per cent of total volumes, reflecting the city’s continued appeal for travelers from neighboring markets. Western Europe accounted for 22 per cent of tourism arrivals, while South Asia, accounted for 16 per cent of total international visitation, followed by CIS and Eastern Europe together contributing 15 per cent, Americas (7 per cent), North Asia and South East Asia (6 per cent), Africa (4 per cent) and Australasia (1 per cent).
The majority of the regions have demonstrated significant increase in Q1 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 while four regions have fully recovered and surpassed Q1 2019 levels – CIS and Eastern Europe (48 per cent vs. Q1 2019), Mena (32 per cent vs. Q1-2019), Americas (9 per cent vs. Q1-2019 and Australasia 2 per cent vs 2019). Both South Asia and Western Europe are close to achieving pre-pandemic levels in terms of tourism volumes.
Dubai’s hotel sector spearheads growth
Dubai hotels saw a surge in performance during the first quarter of 2023. Average occupancy for the sector during the January-March period stood at an impressive 83 per cent, making it one of the highest in the world, and almost on par with the 84 per cent occupancy recorded in Q1 2019. This achievement is particularly notable given a 26 per cent increase in room capacity since then.
By the end of March 2023, the city’s hotel sector had a total of 148,877 rooms in 814 hotel establishments compared to 118,039 rooms in 717 hotel establishments in 2019. Continued domestic and international investment into the sector helped further boost hotel inventory, with the first quarter of 2023 seeing a 6 per cent increase in the total number of hotels and rooms compared to the same period in 2022.
The hotel sector outperformed pre-pandemic levels across all other hospitality metrics. During the first three months of the year, Dubai hotels collectively provided 10.98 million Occupied Room Nights, a YoY growth of 7 per cent and a 27 per cent increase compared to the pre-pandemic period of Q1 2019, which registered 8.63 million Occupied Room Nights.
The ADR of AED607 during the first three months of the year surpassed the ADR of 2019 (AED498), a 22 per cent growth while RevPAR of AED504 in Q1 2023, surged by 21 per cent compared to the first three months of the pre-pandemic period of 2019 (AED 417). The robust performance of the hotel sector is also evident by the fact that average length of stay by guests increased to four nights compared to 3.5 nights, a 14 per cent increase over the same period in 2019, highlighting the city’s appeal for longer-stay travelers.
Leveraging its position as an international events destination to draw more visitors to its MICE, business and leisure events, Q1 2023 saw Dubai hosting an extensive line-up of events, which hosted a record 5,000 plus exhibitors from over 125 countries. In addition to COP28, other major events that are set to create greater visibility for Dubai around the world this year are the family summer extravaganza, Dubai Summer Surprises, Dubai Esports and Games Festival and Dubai Fitness Challenge.
Dubai will also continue to provide alternative growth pathways facilitated by reforms and regulatory enablers, including visa initiatives like the Golden Visa, 5-year Multi Entry Visa, Virtual Working, and Retire in the Dubai programs that have eased barriers to entry, promoted long-term affiliation with the city and further enhanced its position as a global liveability hub.
