Dubai welcomed 5.1 million visitors in the first four months of 2022, as the emirate continues to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This was more than a threefold increase compared with the same period in 2021, when the emirate welcomed 1.67 million overnight visitors.
Hotel occupancy in the emirate stood at 76 per cent during the period, the Dubai Media Office said on Twitter.
Dubai, the commercial and trading centre of the Middle East, was one of the first destinations to reopen to tourists in June 2020 after it put in place steps to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.
The easing up of pandemic restrictions worldwide and the hosting of Dubai Expo 2020 led to a sharp rise in tourist arrivals this year.
In the first quarter, the emirate welcomed 3.97 million international overnight visitors, up 214 per cent annually, according to data from Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism.
The emirate was also ranked first worldwide in terms of hotel occupancy rates during the first three months of 2022, at 82 per cent, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, said in a tweet last month.
Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest in terms of international passenger traffic, also recorded its busiest quarter since 2020 in the first quarter.
Passenger traffic more than doubled to 13.6 million travellers, from 5.7 million in the same quarter a year ago, Dubai Airports said.
In May, the airport operator also raised its annual passenger traffic forecast for 2022 to 58.3 million, from an earlier projection of 57 million.
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Beaches, hotels and sunshine - Dubai tourism in pictures
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The strong growth in the tourism sector has boosted growth in the emirate, with business activity in the non-oil private sector economy surging to its strongest level in 35 months in May, according to the S&P Global Dubai Purchasing Managers' Index.
Travel and tourism outperformed the wholesale and retail trade sector and construction in recent months, expanding at a near-three-year high in May, Emirates NBD, Dubai's largest lender, said in a note on Thursday.
In the first four months of this year, Oman emerged as the biggest source market for Dubai, with 590,000 visitors arriving in the emirate, the bank said.
“This is up hugely compared to the pandemic-affected 2021 period [30,000] but also pre-pandemic 2019, when Oman was in fifth place with 356,000,” it said.
India, the UK, Saudi Arabia and Russia accounted for the rest of the top five source markets during the period.
While visitors numbers from these destinations have made a sharp recovery, they remain down on 2019 levels, the bank said.
“It is worth bearing in mind that the start of the year saw the Omicron wave of Covid-19 infections limit travel once again and this has weighed on the sector,” the report said.
“As the threat from the virus has receded in the face of vaccinations and higher immunity levels, most countries have eased any remaining limits on travel in the subsequent months and Dubai has benefitted as a result.”
However, with China still pursuing a zero-Covid strategy, this will continue to have an impact on Dubai’s tourism sector for as long as it is in force, the bank said.
Over the first four months of 2019, 369,000 people visited Dubai from China, making it the fourth-largest source of visitors.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
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SPECS
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
SHAITTAN
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Pieces of Her
Stars: Toni Collette, Bella Heathcote, David Wenham, Omari Hardwick
Director: Minkie Spiro
Rating:2/5
UAE v Zimbabwe A, 50 over series
Fixtures
Thursday, Nov 9 - 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
Saturday, Nov 11 – 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
Monday, Nov 13 – 2pm, Dubai International Stadium
Thursday, Nov 16 – 2pm, ICC Academy, Dubai
Saturday, Nov 18 – 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs: 2018 Renault Koleos
Price, base: From Dh77,900
Engine: 2.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 170hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 233Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.3L / 100km
pakistan Test squad
Azhar Ali (capt), Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Abbas, Yasir Shah, Usman Shinwari
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
Penguin
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
