Almost all of Dubai’s top 20 inbound visitor source markets saw positive or near stable year-on-year performances in H1 (first half) 2017, with five of the top 10 delivering standout double-digit growth. India continued to top the list of traffic generators, for the first time crossing the 1 million mark over a six-month period with 1,051,000 Indians visiting the city between January and June, up 21% over the same period last year.
A record total of 8.06 million international overnight tourists arrived in Dubai during the first six months of 2017, reflecting a stellar 10.6% increase over the same period last year. Figures released by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) affirm the foundational strength, and sustained acceleration of the emirate’s tourism sector, as it stayed the course of its impressive growth trajectory from January this year, underscoring the expanding appeal of Dubai as a global tourism destination of choice.
Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai Tourism, commented, “We are extremely pleased that Dubai has sustained the momentum of growth we achieved in the first quarter to deliver a strong double-digit performance through H1 2017, setting the stage for continued acceleration in tourism volumes and GDP contribution this year.”
Elaborating on plans for the near future, he added, “Alongside the continuous expansion and enhancement of Dubai’s infrastructure and tourism proposition, and backed by the strength of our industry stakeholders across government and private sectors, our goal now is to ensure that the city builds on this positive trajectory through not just the remainder of 2017 but also further, to get us closer to our Tourism Vision 2020 target of 20 million annual tourist arrivals. In parallel our focus is on creating today for global travel, what the world may aspire to in 10 years – innovating – harnessing the power of data, redefining the customer journey, and amplifying the voice of the traveller – in line with the 10X Agenda set by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to ensure that Dubai is a decade ahead of any other global city.”
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