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Dubai set a new record in the number of tourists by receiving 9.31 million international visitors during the first half of 2024, which represented a 9% increase compared to 8.55 million visitors during the first half of 2023, according to a new report by Cavendish Maxwell, a company specializing in real estate consultancy. The luxury hospitality sector is also witnessing remarkable growth, and is expected to strengthen further, as the report, titled “Dubai’s Hospitality Sector,” evaluated the market’s performance in the first half of 2024.
Dubai International Airport (DXB) also witnessed record growth, receiving 44.9 million passengers during the first half of the year, an increase of 8% compared to the same period in 2023.
It is expected that the number of passengers will reach 91 million passengers by the end of 2024, in addition to Dubai Airport topping the list of the most connected airports in the Middle East and Africa, as the number of passengers traveling through Dubai Airport in 2023 will reach about 87 million passengers.
The hospitality sector kept pace with this significant growth in the tourism sector, as the number of hotels increased by 4.8%, reaching 631 hotels, and the luxury hotel category witnessed a noticeable increase of 111.4%, with expectations that the average daily price of rooms will continue to rise.
The year 2024 witnessed the opening of many new luxury hotels, such as “LAN Dubai Dorchester Collection”, “Cairo One Zabeel”, “One&Only One Zabeel”, “Five Luxe JBR”, and “Palace Dubai Creek Harbour”. These new hotels added about 1,090 rooms to the current offer, and the luxury category is expected to witness significant growth in 2025, with the opening of 8 new hotels adding about 1,140 rooms.
The tourism sector contributes significantly to the UAE economy, as it recorded a growth of 11.7% in the gross domestic product during the year 2023, reaching 220 billion dirhams, and it is expected that the sector will contribute 12% of the UAE’s gross domestic product, equivalent to 236 billion dirhams in 2024.
Western Europeans constituted the largest group of tourists in Dubai, accounting for 20% (1.9 million tourists). South Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries ranked next, with percentages of 17%, 15%, and 14%, respectively.
