In 2018, there were 15.93 million international overnight tourists to Dubai, up from 14.9 million in 2016.This number steadily increased over the past couple of years.
Dubai tourism - additional information
Dubai is the second largest and second most important and influential emirate of the United Arab Emirates after the capital, Abu Dhabi. Many may associate the Middle Eastern economy with the oil industry, but little of Dubai’s revenue comes from oil. In fact, the most profitable industries in Dubai are tourism, real estate and financial services. The number of tourists in Dubai has increased year-on-year, reaching almost 15 million in 2016. This made Dubai the fourth most visited city destination worldwide after Bangkok, London, and Paris according to the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index.
Dubai also ranked as the first leading city destination for international visitor spending – tourists spent over 28 billion U.S. dollars there in 2016. That year, Doha was the top feeder city for overnight visitors to Dubai, providing just over one million visitors. Tourists may have been attracted to Dubai to witness the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa.
Despite Dubai’s tourism success, by far the smallest share of global international tourist arrivals can be found in the Middle East. While still retaining the smallest tourism market in the world, international tourist arrivals in the Middle East are expected to triple to almost 150 million by 2030.
Dubai tourism - additional information
Dubai is the second largest and second most important and influential emirate of the United Arab Emirates after the capital, Abu Dhabi. Many may associate the Middle Eastern economy with the oil industry, but little of Dubai’s revenue comes from oil. In fact, the most profitable industries in Dubai are tourism, real estate and financial services. The number of tourists in Dubai has increased year-on-year, reaching almost 15 million in 2016. This made Dubai the fourth most visited city destination worldwide after Bangkok, London, and Paris according to the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index.
Dubai also ranked as the first leading city destination for international visitor spending – tourists spent over 28 billion U.S. dollars there in 2016. That year, Doha was the top feeder city for overnight visitors to Dubai, providing just over one million visitors. Tourists may have been attracted to Dubai to witness the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa.
Despite Dubai’s tourism success, by far the smallest share of global international tourist arrivals can be found in the Middle East. While still retaining the smallest tourism market in the world, international tourist arrivals in the Middle East are expected to triple to almost 150 million by 2030.
