Figures in the United Arab Emirate' tourism sector have topped pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
The figures revealed that hotels attracted nearly six million visitors, who spent 25 million hotel nights in the first quarter of 2022, reflecting a growth of 10% compared to the same period in 2019.
The average duration of hotel guest stays reached 25% during the same period, up from three to four nights.
Moreover, the occupancy rate of hotel establishments in the country during Q1 2022 achieved 80 percent growth, one of the highest globally.
Hotels also generated a total revenue of AED11 billion with a 20% growth compared to the same period in 2019 and resumed operations at full capacity of approximately 200,000 hotel rooms.
Dr. Ahmad Belhoul al-Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs and Chairman of the UAE Tourism Council, revealed that the country’s tourism sector achieved a new growth milestone in Q1 2022, underlining its competitiveness at both regional and international levels.
He attributed the sector’s latest achievement to the unlimited support and directives of the UAE’s wise leadership and its interest in this vital sector, which is one of the future sectors and a key focus area in the UAE’s development vision for the next 50 years.
Falasi said that during the first quarter of this year, the national tourism sector exceeded the growth rates recorded not only in 2020 and 2021, but also during the same period in 2019, which is the benchmark for measuring recovery and growth rates in most countries today.
“It is one of the best years in terms of economic growth in general and tourism in particular, and this confirms the strong comeback of the sector,” he added.
Furthermore, Q1 2022 saw a resurgence and a strong comeback of inward tourism flows from foreign markets, as hotel establishments in various emirates hosted nearly four million international tourists.
India, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Russia, and the United States topped the list of international tourists.
Falasi pointed to the important role that the major events hosted by the UAE over the past months played in supporting the sector.
These include Expo 2020 Dubai, which successfully attracted more than 24 million visitors over six months, and the Worlds’s Coolest Winter campaign in its second edition. In over a month and a half, the event generated a total revenue of AED1.5 billion ($408 million) and attracted more than 1.3 million local tourists.
