At least 1.24 million Indian tourists visited Dubai in the first nine months of 2022, the highest among all foreign nationalities visiting Dubai. India to the UAE is the 10th busiest corridor globally for families booking during the festive season, according to analytics released by Saber Corporation, the largest portal for air bookings in North America.

A new survey says that during this festive season, the UAE has become a very popular global destination among travellers, especially from India.

Being one of the most popular overseas destinations for Indian tourists, India remains the largest international travel source market for Dubai.

According to Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), the number of Indian tourists visiting Dubai has more than doubled to 8.58 lakh in the first half of 2021 from January-June 2022 as compared to a year-ago period of 4.09 lakh.

If we talk about the figures, so far in 2022, Dubai has achieved the figure of $29.4 billion only from the currency spent by tourists, which has topped the list of cities with the most spending by international visitors in tourism receipts in 2022.

Now the condition has become like before Corona, then on the basis of statistics, it is expected that the number of tourists coming in the last quarter should be more than 4 million. In 2019, the number of visitors to Dubai was 16.7 million.

According to data released by the Department of Economy and Tourism Dubai, 1.24 million Indian tourists visited the emirate in the first nine months of 2022, the highest among all foreign nationalities. Of the 6.8 million tourist arrivals in Dubai in the last 9 months, more than 1.2 million were Indians alone.

US-based company Saber Corp said: “With easier travel restrictions, affordable accommodation options, and shorter travel times between the two countries, the UAE is a popular destination for Indian travelers.

“Globally, family travelers are increasingly traveling to the UAE, while Thailand remains a popular destination for those traveling as a couple.”

With the announcement of the Dubai Shopping Festival to be held in the month of December, the authorities of Dubai are expecting that there can be a huge jump in the number of tourists coming from India in the month of December alone.

During winter, tourists from all over the world come to Dubai to enjoy the pleasant weather and shopping bargains during the Dubai Shopping Festival. During this period, economic activity in the emirate also peaks.

The 28th edition of the world’s longest-running shopping festival Festival (DSF-Dubai Shopping Festival) begins on December 15 and will go on till January 29, 2023 offering shoppers 3,500 outlets from over 800 leading brands at up to 75 per cent off discount.

Daily fireworks, razor shows, and drone shows showcasing Dubai’s 2040 vision will entertain the public at 6 locations across the city of Dubai.

The prizes received during the Dubai Shopping Festival have also been seen to change people’s lives. This year also a cash prize of 20 lakhs, gold worth 10 thousand, luxury car every day.

Prizes like Rs 2 crore cash, TV, iPhone, and gold have been announced in the grand prize.

Festival City Mall has already announced a grand price of Rs 20 crore. And a portal called Idealz will give away a luxurious apartment in Downtown Dubai to the lucky winner among the shoppers. Plus sports and entertainment, music shows, horse racing, and a sensational performance by legendary iconic Hollywood film composer Hans Zimmer and his 45-piece band, orchestra, and dancers.

Dubai attracted 7.12 million international overnight visitors between January and June 2022, recording more than 183% growth in visitors compared to the 2.52 million tourists who visited Dubai during the same period in 2021, according to data from Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET).

This positive trend in H1 2022 places the city firmly on track to achieve its tourism goals for 2022 and beyond, and further reinforces its position as an international destination of choice.

According to the data published by Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) international visitation to the city surpassed 3.4 million visitors in the fourth quarter of 2021, achieving 74 per cent of the total pre-pandemic tourist arrivals of Q4 2019, and paving the way for hotels in Dubai to deliver a stellar fourth quarter performance that surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

A positive trend which is expected to continue throughout 2022 and beyond, the 2021 visitation figures underline the resilience and resurgence of the city’s travel and tourism sector and reaffirm the role of tourism as a key driver of economic growth, while further validating Dubai’s recent selection as the world’s most popular destination in the Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards 2022.

Overcoming the impact of international travel restrictions in key global markets, Dubai continued to be the first-choice safe tourism destination, attracting holidaymakers throughout 2021 from markets that were open. Dubai strongholds regained momentum to register positive growth during 2021, with No.1 source market India delivering 910,000 visitors (5.3 per cent YoY), followed by 491,000 travellers from Saudi Arabia (+22.8 per cent YoY) whilst Russia and United Kingdom contributed 444,000 visitors (+50.3 per cent YoY) and 420,000 visitors (+7.1 per cent YoY) respectively.

Agencies