Ireland is a rapidly growing source market for visitors to Dubai, increasing by 16% in the first half of 2013. Overall, Dubai welcomed 5.5 million tourists in the first half of 2013, representing an 11% increase year-on-year, and illustrating that the emirate is well on its way to achieving its Tourism Vision for 2020.
The visitor figures for the first six months of the year, published by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, show increases across all key indicators, including hotel guests, hotel and hotel apartment revenues, room occupancy and average length of stay in the emirate.
Dubai had 16 more hotel establishments than it did at the end of June 2012, bringing the total number of hotels in the city to 603 and hotel rooms to 81,492 – a 7.2% increase since the end of the first half of 2012. Hotel openings during this period included the JW Marriott Marquis, Oberoi Hotel Dubai, and JA Ocean View Hotel.
A monthly breakdown of visitor numbers illustrates that events and seasonal attractions play a large part in the growth of tourists to Dubai, as it provides visitors with even more rewarding lifestyle experiences. Annual events such as the Dubai Shopping Festival, Dubai World Cup and Summer Is Dubai are all extremely popular with oversees travellers, while the emirate has played host to some of the world’s top acts in the first half of the year, including Justin Bieber’s first concert in the Middle East and the renowned Cirque du Soleil, as well as will.I.am in September and the Killers at Sandance in October, while Alicia Keyes will perform on 15th November.
The released figures also highlight the success of Dubai’s position as a summer tourism destination, showcasing the month of June as the third busiest month for hotel guests after January and March.
World-class Infrastructure
Ian Scott, Director UK & Ireland, Dubai Tourism, said: “The growth recorded for the first half of the year is on target for our medium term plans and is, most importantly, sustainable. As the number of holidaymakers to the emirate increases, so does the breadth of accommodation to meet demand.
“The city’s world-class infrastructure also ensures that we are able to continue to increase our visitor numbers, with Dubai now being home to the world’s second-ranked airport in terms of traffic as well as home to the Emirates airline group, which flies out of seven airports in the UK and Ireland non-stop to Dubai – and is thus a critical contributor to our UK and Irish tourism success.”
