International visitor spending in UAE to exceed $52bn this year, WTTC says

Emirates projected to be 10th biggest recipient of inbound tourism spending globally

Tourists taking photos with the Abu Dhabi skyline in the background. Passenger traffic at the country's airports rose by more than 14 per cent in the first half of this year. Khushnum Bhandari / The NationalShow less

International visitors to the UAE will spend an estimated $52.2 billion in the country this year, up 9.4 per cent annually, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has said.

The UAE is this year projected to rank as the 10th biggest recipient of inbound tourism spending globally and the second largest in the Middle East behind Saudi Arabia, the WTTC said in its latest Travel and Tourism Economic Impact report. The kingdom ranked sixth globally with a forecast of $68.3 billion, up from $60.6 billion in 2023.

The UAE has recorded robust growth in its tourism sector as demand to travel continues to soar around the world. Passenger traffic at the country's airports surged by more than 14 per cent in the first half of 2024 to 71.75 million, the latest data from the General Civil Aviation Authority shows.

The number of arrivals at UAE airports in the first half of the year reached 20,274,694, while departures hit 21,090,750. The number of transit passengers was 30,391,978.

The GCAA is working with national airlines and other partners to identify opportunities to enter new markets, after the UAE signed air transport agreements with more than 90 per cent of the world’s countries, said Saif Al Suwaidi, director general of the regulatory body.

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In the wider region, international visitor spending is expected to increase by 10.1 per cent. That would push it 5.3 per cent beyond pre-Covid levels in 2019, the WTTC said in its report.

Between 2024 and 2034, the sector’s total contribution to gross domestic product in the region is forecast to grow 3.9 per cent each year, higher than the 2.4 per cent annual growth rate forecast for the wider regional economy.

The sector’s total contribution to GDP is set to reach $744 billion by 2034, accounting for a 7.8 per cent share of the entire regional economy. "This growth is predicted to be accompanied by an increase of 2.1 million jobs and the total employment is projected to reach 10.4 million jobs in 2034, or one in nine jobs in the Middle East," the WTTC said.

Meanwhile, international visitor spending around the world is set to grow by nearly 16 per cent, to reach $1.9 trillion this year. Several tourism destinations will benefit from a surge in international spending this year compared with pre-pandemic levels, with Saudi Arabia up 91.3 per cent and Egypt rising 22.9 per cent, compared with 2019.

The global travel and tourism sector's contribution to the world economy is set to reach an all-time high of $11.1 trillion, the WTTC said. The sector is also expected to support nearly 348 million jobs, an increase of 13.6 million on its 2019 record. "We can, then, hotly anticipate a record-breaking 2024," said Julia Simpson, chief executive of the WTTC.

But she warned of macroeconomic headwinds and geopolitical threats, with the Israel-Gaza war having raged for almost a year and the Russia-Ukraine conflict grinding on.

"The future is very bright," she added. "That does not mean there will be no risks, whether it is geopolitical instability or stubborn inflation. Furthermore, growth brings with it an added responsibility to do so inclusively and sustainably."

Business travel comeback

The WTTC anticipates that corporate travel will have a more positive outlook than initially expected and is set to fully recover in 2024, after the rise of remote work dampened the sector's growth and it lagged behind leisure travel.

Total expenditure on business travel around the world is forecast to reach $1.5 trillion in 2024 – an increase of 6.2 per cent compared with in 2019.

Business travel spending in the US, which accounted for 30 per cent of the global total in 2019, is expected to reach $472 billion. This would be 13.4 per cent higher than the 2019 record. In China, the second largest market for business travel, spending is forecast to grow 13.1 per cent above 2019 levels.