Dubai touches the 10 million visitors mark
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Visitor numbers to Dubai increased by 9.3% in 2012, with the city welcoming more than 10 million visitors over a one year period for the first time. The statistics were announced by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM). 
HE Helal Almarri, director general of DTCM, said: “This continual year-on-year growth is due to a number of factors including coordinated city-wide destination management strategy; our infrastructure; location at the crossroads of East and West; and unrelenting efforts to enhance our already diverse and compelling tourism offer.”
HE Helal Almarri said: ”The increasing average length of stay and rising number of hotel apartments is evidence of a growing trend in people and families visiting Dubai for longer periods – historically the city was seen by some markets as a stopover destination but in recent years it has become the destination.”
Arab markets continue to provide a significant percentage of Dubai’s overall visitor numbers and 2012 saw 30% more visitors from Saudi Arabia. Europe contributes over a quarter of the city’s hotel guests and the past year saw a substantial 54% rise in the number of Russians coming to Dubai. A significant increase in Chinese visitors has also been seen, with a 28% rise. The Chinese market will continue to be a key focus of Dubai’s marketing efforts as the city looks to capitalise on the circa AED202bn that Chinese travellers spend per year worldwide.
HE Helal Almarri said: “Growth in visitors is partly linked to increasing cross-border trade and investment ties that the city is making with growing economies such as China. As these links continue to develop, visitors from these nations will continue to rise.”
Key indicators:
•Hotel Guests and Cruise Passengers rose to approximately 10.16 million – an increase of 9.3% on 2011 figures
•Hotel Guests numbering 9.96 million – up 9.5% compared with 9.1 million in 2011
•Guest Nights increasing by 14%, numbering 37,445,453 in 2012, compared to 32,848,190 in 2011
•Hotel Revenues increasing by 17.9% at AED18.82bn
