38% of the UAE’s share of international tourism revenues in 2023 in the Middle East

The latest data from the World Tourism Organization showed that the UAE market recorded a strong performance in the international tourism revenues index and the numbers of international tourists during the past year, compared to 2019 levels, indicating that the UAE accounted for about 38% of the total revenues, and 30% of the visitor traffic, at the region level. .

According to the organization’s latest data, the UAE ranked first in the number of international tourists and in international tourism revenues in the Middle East region, indicating that total revenues amounted to about 51.9 billion US dollars (190.5 billion dirhams) in 2023, compared to 30.7 billion dollars (112.6 billion). AED) in 2019, with a strong growth rate of 69%.

Data showed that the UAE received 28.1 million international tourists in 2023, compared to 21.5 million international tourists in 2019, with a growth rate of about 30.5%, indicating the strong gains achieved by the tourism sector in the country during the post-pandemic period.

The organization said: “The Middle East region witnessed the fastest recovery, exceeding the numbers before the “Covid-19” pandemic, and the Middle East region topped the results in 2023 in terms of percentages, as the number of international arrivals increased by 31% above 2019 levels, reaching 93%. million, and it was the only region in the world that exceeded arrival numbers before the pandemic, and revenues also increased by 45% to reach 137 billion US dollars.”

Globally, the organization indicated that international tourism rebounded strongly in 2023 to reach 1.3 billion tourists, or about 89% of the number recorded before the pandemic, after three years of closing borders and travel restrictions to contain the “Covid-19” pandemic, noting that destinations Tourism worldwide recorded international tourism revenues worth $1.5 trillion, equivalent to 98% of the pre-pandemic figure recorded in 2019.

According to the latest data from the Ministry of Economy, revenues from hotel establishments in the country rose to more than 28 billion dirhams during the period from January to July 2024, with a growth rate of 5% compared to the same period last year. The number of guests at hotel establishments in the seven Emirates reached more than 17.6 million guests during the first seven months of 2024, with a growth rate of 10% compared to the same period in 2023.

The hotel occupancy rate in the country reached 79% during the first seven months of this year, which is among the highest rates at the regional and global levels, and the total number of nights spent by hotel establishments reached more than 60 million nights during the first seven months of 2024, with a growth of 9%. % compared to the same period last year, while the total number of hotel rooms in the country reached about 214.3 thousand rooms by the end of July 2024.