Dubai received 14.36 million international overnight visitors in 2022, an increase of 97 per cent year-on-year from the 7.28 million tourist arrivals it recorded in 2021
The figures shared by Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) show that the emirate had recovered to 86 per cent of its pre-pandemic visitor numbers which stood at 16.73 million in 2019.

The latest data from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) meanwhile showed that global tourist travel in 2022 was 37 per cent lower than 2019, demonstrating that Dubai’s recovery in tourism was significantly above the global average.

Western Europe and the GCC region each accounted for a 21 per cent share of arrivals in Dubai last year. The GCC region witnessed an increase in their share of arrivals from 13 per cent in 2021 to 21 per cent last year. South Asia contributed 17 per cent of total volumes while the MENA region contributed 12 per cent. The Americas accounted for 7 per cent of arrivals while the North Asia and South East Asia region and Africa each contributed 5 per cent and Australasia accounted for 2 per cent.

Average occupancy for the hotel sector in Dubai in 2022 stood at 73 per cent, rising from 67 per cent in 2021. The figure is a little less than the 75 per cent occupancy rate in the pre-pandemic period of 2019. The 73 per cent occupancy rate achieved last year was done so despite a 16 per cent increase in room supply in 2022 compared to 2019.

Dubai’s hotel inventory at the end of December 2022 comprised of 146,496 rooms at 804 hotel establishments, compared to 126,120 rooms available at the end of December 2019 across 741 establishments. The total number of hotels in 2022 marked a six per cent growth over 2021, with 755 hotel establishments offering 137,950 rooms.

The hotel sector outperformed pre-pandemic levels across all other key measurements – Occupied Room Nights, Average Daily Rate (ADR) and Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR). Occupied room nights reached a record high of 37.43 million room nights in 2022, registering a 19 per cent increase over 2021 (31.47 million) and a 17 per cent increase over the pre-pandemic period of 2019, which yielded 32.11 million occupied room nights.

The ADR of Dhs536 in 2022 surpassed the ADRs for both 2021 (Dhs451) and 2019 (Dhs415), with 19 per cent and 29 per cent increases respectively. The hotel sector’s RevPAR grew increase 30 per cent compared to 2021 (Dhs391 vs Dhs301) and increased 25 per cent over the pre-pandemic period of 2019 (RevPAR of Dhs312).

“The remarkable rise in international visitation in 2022 supports the ambitious goal of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 to double the size of the emirate’s economy by 2033. The tourism and travel sector contributes significantly to the leadership’s aim of making the emirate a model for excellence in the global economy,” said Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai.

Dubai will launch new initiatives aligned with the UAE 2031 Tourism Strategy, which seeks to attract 40 million guests by 2031 and increase the tourism sector’s contribution to the emirate’s GDP to Dhs450 billion.

visitdubai.com

Source: Business Traveller