Leading by example

The last decade has witnessed a seismic shift taking place across the Middle East; one that has seen nations charting a new course to move beyond traditional revenue streams. In this pursuit of new avenues for growth, a burgeoning tourism base has taken centre stage and is now at the heart of these efforts.

Particularly adept at keeping up with the changing times and diversifying its offering, Dubai has led the charge in this space. The emirate’s master plan has covered everything, establishing Dubai as a global business centre, a knowledge hub, a smart city with a future-focused approach and a leading tourism destination.

At the forefront of this strategy is Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), which tirelessly pushed ahead with ambitious developments to future-proof the city. It has delivered exceptionally on all fronts, cementing the emirate’s position as a leader on the global stage. And these efforts have paid off as 2022 witnessed exceptional growth in visitation, surpassing regional and global tourism recovery barometres.

Dubai’s visitor arrivals reached 86 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in 2022, exceeding global recovery levels of 63 per cent and Middle East recovery levels of 83 per cent. The total number of international overnight visitors recorded was 14.36 million, representing a 97 per cent year-on-year growth from the 7.28 million tourist arrivals in 2021, with one of the world’s highest occupancy rates of 73 per cent.

This performance contributes to the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33) launched by His Highness Sheikh

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to cement the emirate’s status as one of the world’s top cities for travel and business.

His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, said: “While the global economy remains in a state of flux, Dubai has emerged as a clear leader in the tourism industry. The robust performance is a testament to Dubai’s growing role at the vanguard of global tourism recovery.”

Adding to its ever-expanding list of accolades, the tourism sector’s outstanding performance in 2022 saw Dubai being crowned the number one global destination in the Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards for a second successive year. Award winners are uniquely chosen by millions of travellers from around the world, who provide their real and unbiased reviews or opinions on destinations, activities and experiences.

Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), said: “Retaining our position as the number one destination in the Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards is just reward for the efforts to continuously innovate and adapt to the evolving nature of travel, build out exceptional guest experiences at every touchpoint and effectively tailor Dubai’s offering for different needs and segments. As a city that is always on the move, Dubai’s charm is its unique ability to surprise and delight both new and repeat visitors with its evergrowing diverse offering while keeping its authenticity and traditions intact.”

One of the biggest success stories of the region in 2022 was Expo 2020 Dubai. The mega event, held for the first time on Middle Eastern soil, made a massive contribution to the tourism industry’s outstanding performance. Over the course of six months, Expo 2020 Dubai attracted over 24 million visits. Its success reinforced the emirate’s position as an international events destination.

Later in the year, Dubai unveiled Expo City Dubai – a green, tech-enabled smart city – to carry the legacy of this mega event forward, with a host of attractions from the original event continuing to entertain visitors at the site.

In addition to Expo 2020 Dubai, the city played host to a number of global business, leisure, sporting and entertainment events, attracting visitors from all around the world to experience everything that the emirate has to offer.

The biggest reveal of 2022 was the Museum of the Future. Its striking façade had been garnering the world’s attention even before the museum officially opened its doors; and when it did, it was dubbed the most beautiful building on the planet. In a year’s time, the museum recorded one million visits, thanks to the extraordinary experiences found within, which takes visitors on a journey to the future – all the way to 2071.

Dubai’s hotel sector continued to perform strongly across all metrics. The city’s hotel inventory comprised 146,496 rooms at 804 hotel establishments at the end of December 2022, compared to 126,120 rooms available at the end of December 2019 across 741 establishments.

Occupied room nights reached a record high of 37.43 million room nights in 2022, registering a 19 per cent increase compared to 2021 (31.47 million) and a 17 per cent increase over the pre-pandemic period of 2019, which yielded 32.11 million occupied room nights. The average daily rate (ADR) reached AED536 and its RevPAR growth saw an increase of 30 per cent compared to 2021 (AED391 versus AED301).

Dubai’s penchant for luxury hospitality also played out on the world stage with the opening of the mega-resort, Atlantis The Royal, which saw international figures from around the world descend on Dubai for a grand pre-opening event.

Dubai’s multicultural dining scene – with more than 13,000 venues – has been a significant driver of growth, attracting guests from all around the world. The city’s thriving culinary landscape was recognised with the launch of the Michelin Guide Dubai in June 2022.

Dubai’s restaurants and chefs were also recognised in the inaugural edition of the Middle East & North Africa region’s 50 Best Restaurants list, unveiled in February 2022. DET also launched the region’s first-ever Gastronomy Industry Report, a study of the gastronomy scene in the city and the region, reinforcing Dubai’s position as a highly soughtafter global food tourism destination.

Throughout 2022, Dubai worked tirelessly to achieve its sustainability goals, led by Dubai Sustainable Tourism (DST), an initiative aimed at raising the city’s profile as a leading sustainable destination. Last year saw the launch of ‘Dubai Can’, an innovative citywide sustainability initiative, as part of the drive to transform the emirate into a leading sustainable destination and the world’s best city to live and work. The emirate will only continue to develop further in this space with a series of plans in place.

In 2022, a number of new initiatives were launched as part of Dubai’s everevolving destination proposition. The

UAE 2031 Tourism Strategy, announced in November 2022, seeks to attract 40 million guests by 2031 and increase the tourism sector’s contribution to the emirate’s GDP to AED 450 billion.

Dubai also continues to unveil strong regulatory initiatives to promote the accelerated growth of the tourism sector, including hassle-free entry procedures for business and leisure travellers that streamline access to the emirate by establishing long-term engagement with the city. These include the 60-day tourist visa, which was made available from September 2022, and the fiveyear, multi-entry visa for employees of multinational companies, in addition to the golden visa as well as virtual working and retirement programmes.

Dubai’s ability to rapidly accelerate tourism growth in 2022 marked the emirate as a clear frontrunner in the international industry. While these achievements are celebrated in a big way, it has also set the stage for another year of milestones – perfectly in keeping with a city that is never keen to rest on its laurels.

Kazim said: “Our focus for 2023 and beyond will be to drive and support growth through this mosaic of experiences, across all our tourism pillars, from entertainment to shopping and culture to culinary experiences.”