ATM 2023: Dubai aims to exceed pre-Covid tourism levels this year as Q1 visitors rise 17%

Dubai aims to exceed the pre-pandemic annual number of international visitors this year, after it recorded a 17 per cent increase in the tourist numbers in the first quarter of 2023, the emirate's tourism chief said on Monday.

The emirate hosted 4.67 million overnight visitors in the three months to the end of March, compared to 3.97 million tourists during the same period in 2022, the Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) said. The figure climbed close to the 4.75 million visitors during the first quarter of 2019, prior to the pandemic.

The latest numbers place the emirate firmly on track to becoming the most visited global destination, the government body said.

"Our aim is to exceed last year's number and our aim is to do better than we did in 2019," Issam Kazim, chief executive of the Dubai Department for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), told The National during the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai on Monday.

Dubai recorded 14.36 million international visitors in 2022, inching closer to the 16.73 million tourists in 2019, according to DET statistics.

“Once again, Dubai confirms its leading global position as a destination for tourists and visitors from everywhere … During the first quarter of 2023, we welcomed 4.67 million international visitors who enjoyed the best tourism experiences in the world,” Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, said in a tweet.

“These numbers and the growth in the number of visitors … reflect our ambitions within the D33 agenda.”

The tourism sector, an important pillar of the emirate's economy, has strongly rebounded from the coronavirus-induced slowdown. Dubai International Airport remained the world's busiest international hub for passengers last year for the ninth year in a row, as long-haul travel demand surged, rankings by the Airports Council International showed in April.

Dubai is aiming to exceed its 2019 tourism performance as more Chinese visitors come to Dubai following the Asian country’s re-opening to international travel and as global carriers ramp up their capacity to pre-Covid levels, Mr Kazim said.

“With that in mind, getting the 4.67 million tourists gives me comfort to know that at least we can push to reach or exceed the 2019 numbers because that is our target,” Mr Kazim said.

The focus is to keep Dubai "top of mind" for travellers so that every airline seat to the emirate is full, he said.

"What you can control is the areas of marketing, the communication, the PR, engaging with partners on the ground ... and the trend has always been that the search for Dubai is up, indicating that there's a lot of appetite and demand for the destination."

Dubai is continuing with its strategy to diversify its tourism source markets, running more than 80 marketing campaigns globally in 2022 to countries such as Germany, France and Egypt at a time when its traditional source market of China was still closed for international travel.

"We tried different markets and we saw a huge jump in those markets," Mr Kazim said.

Dubai is also wooing visitors from source markets in CIS countries such as Turkey that could be "potentially big" and can help contribute to tourism growth, he said.

Source markets across Latin America, Africa and Australia also have "major potential", while the US has "bigger potential" than the current ranking in the top five source markets, he added.

But increasing visitor numbers from each of its source markets also depends on how quickly Dubai airlines can boost their capacity and how soon domestic airlines in those markets can start to operate a new route to Dubai, Mr Kazim said.

The global transit hub is also increasing efforts to promote itself as a stopover destination for travellers passing through Dubai International Airport (DXB), the world's busiest by international passenger numbers.

It is also working on increasing visitors' length of stay in Dubai and encouraging repeat trips, as part of its performance targets.

Dubai's first-quarter visitor numbers positions the emirate as the fastest recovering destination globally, achieving 98 per cent of pre-pandemic levels during this period, according to the DET report.

The GCC and Mena combined were the top source market by region, collectively contributing to 29 per cent of total visitor numbers.

Western Europe accounted for 22 per cent of tourism arrivals, while South Asia accounted for 16 per cent of total international visitation, followed by CIS and Eastern Europe together contributing 15 per cent and the Americas 7 per cent.

Four regions have fully recovered and surpassed the first quarter of 2019 levels: CIS and Eastern Europe, Mena, Americas and Australasia.

Dubai hotels' average occupancy during the January-March period stood at 83 per cent, close to the 84 per cent occupancy recorded in first quarter of 2019, despite a 26 per cent increase in the number of hotel rooms since.

Hotel revenue per available room, a key gauge of performance for the industry, reached Dh504 ($137) in the first quarter of 2023, up by 21 per cent compared to the first three months of 2019.

"Q1 2023 has set us off on a very strong trajectory for the year," said Helal Almarri, director general of DET.

Dubai will continue with its strategy of "multi-geographic approach to markets, constant international outreach through global campaigns, hosting international MICE, business and leisure events and further improving stakeholder relationships", he added.