A total of 3.14 million international tourists visited Dubai in the first two months of the year, up 90,000 on the figure of 3.05 million from 2018.

According to data from the Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing, the number marked a continuation of a trend that saw 3.01 million visits in January and February in 2017 and 2.68 million in 2016, respectively.

Guests continue to flock to attractions such as the Palm Jumeirah and Burj Khalifa, while a host of new hotels have joined the market in recent months.

Western Europe topped the source of foreign visitors at 22 per cent of the total, with the GCC next at 18 per cent and south-east Asia at 17 per cent.

Of individual countries, India was the primary source of guests at 386,000, a drop of nine per cent over the same period last year, while the number of visitors from the UK rose four per cent, those from Germany increased 11 per cent and from the US the number was up four per cent.

The average occupancy rate for hotel establishments in the period came in at 84 per cent, compared with 87 per cent last year.

Revenue per available room was Dh432 in the January to February period, down from Dh501 last year, while the average daily room rate was Dh513 compared to Dh574 in 2018.