The Department of Economy and Tourism of Dubai presented the latest statistical data on the productivity of the tourism sector and the number of international visitors, which showed that for the first nine months of the current year, the Emirates attracted 13.29 million international tourists, which is 7% more than the 12.40 million tourists for the same period last year.
According to the department's data, Dubai continues to demonstrate significant indicators across all metrics, including total visitor numbers, number of hotel rooms, booked nights, average daily rate, and also average revenue per room, compared to last year's levels.
In terms of the geographical origin of visitors, Western Europe took first place, attracting 19% of the total number of tourists from January to September 2024, with a figure of 2.56 million foreign tourists. In second place is Southeast Asia with 17%, which accounts for over 2.27 million tourists. The CIS countries of the Persian Gulf were in third place, attracting around a million visitors, while the Commonwealth of Independent States and Eastern Europe were in fourth place with 1.8 million tourists, which constitutes 14%.
The total number of hotel rooms in Dubai by the end of September last year exceeded 152 thousand in 826 hotels, compared to approximately 148.8 thousand rooms in 815 establishments at the end of September 2023. Five-star hotels occupy 35% of the total hotel market volume, with about 52.9 thousand rooms in 166 hotels, followed by four-star hotels with 29%, offering nearly 43.8 thousand rooms in 197 establishments.
Three-star hotels and hotels in the "star" category account for about 19% of the hotel market with more than 28.9 thousand rooms in 275 hotels. Apartment-hotels offer around 26.4 thousand rooms in 188 establishments, covering about 17% of the market.
Western and Southeast Asia attracted 10% of the total number of tourists, which constitutes 1.3 million. Americans attracted more than 877 thousand foreign tourists, occupying 7% of the market, while Africa saw about 5% and 636 thousand visitors. The region of Australasia hosted around 256 thousand tourists, which constitutes 2% of the total.
For the first nine months of 2024, hotel occupancy in Dubai stood at 76.4%, which is significantly higher than 75.7% in the same period last year. The total number of nights spent by international visitors in this period was 31.28 million, compared to 30.44 million nights spent last year, with the average duration of stay for guests being 3.6 nights.
The average daily cost of a hotel room was 487 dirhams, which is 3% higher than in 2023, while the average revenue from accessible rooms reached 372 dirhams, which is 4% more than last year.
