Tourists take photos with camels on the beach at Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai. New data shows the emirate is on track for another standout performance in tourism this year. Reuters
Tourists take photos with camels on the beach at Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai. New data shows the emirate is on track for another standout performance in tourism this year. Reuters
Tourists take photos with camels on the beach at Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai. New data shows the emirate is on track for another standout performance in tourism this year. Reuters
Tourists take photos with camels on the beach at Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai. New data shows the emirate is on track for another standout performance in tourism this year. Reuters

Dubai records 11% increase in Q1 tourist numbers amid travel rebound


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Dubai recorded an 11 per cent increase in tourist numbers in the first quarter of the year as the emirate continued to benefit from a rebound in global travel demand after the coronavirus pandemic.

The emirate hosted 5.18 million international overnight visitors from January to March 2024, compared with 4.67 million tourist arrivals during the same period a year earlier, according to data published by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) on Monday.

“The number of visitors in the first quarter of 2024 indicates that Dubai is on course for another standout performance this year after the emirate received a record number of visitors last year,” said Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the emirate's Executive Council.

“This will ensure that the tourism sector continues its growth journey in line with the … objectives of the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33), which aims to strengthen its position as a leading global city for business and leisure.”

  • 'To Korea, Where K-Culture Begins' is a two-day event taking place at Dubai Festival City Mall. All photos: Pawan Singh / The National
    'To Korea, Where K-Culture Begins' is a two-day event taking place at Dubai Festival City Mall. All photos: Pawan Singh / The National
  • Mascots pose for a photo at the K-Culture event
    Mascots pose for a photo at the K-Culture event
  • People visit the nail art stand
    People visit the nail art stand
  • A Korean digital artist draws a caricature at her stand
    A Korean digital artist draws a caricature at her stand
  • A digital caricature in the works
    A digital caricature in the works
  • Hanbok, traditional Korean clothing, are on display and visitors can try them on
    Hanbok, traditional Korean clothing, are on display and visitors can try them on
  • Visitors try on hanbok at the K-Culture event
    Visitors try on hanbok at the K-Culture event
  • Temporary tattoos of famous Korean cartoon characters are also on offer
    Temporary tattoos of famous Korean cartoon characters are also on offer
  • Visitors to the K-spa stand
    Visitors to the K-spa stand
  • The arts and craft stand
    The arts and craft stand
  • The event is free with the aim of promoting tourism to South Korea
    The event is free with the aim of promoting tourism to South Korea

The increase in tourists comes as global airline capacity improved after the Covid-19 pandemic and as more travellers from China, a crucial market for the emirate in 2019, started to return to the city in increasing numbers, Issam Kazim, chief executive of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, told The National on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.

“What we're better at doing today is getting the right product out to the right audience and in front of them at the right time, which helps us quite a lot, leveraging different platforms and channels and means of communication,” he said.

Dubai, which is known for its luxury hotels, is also seeing returns on a strategy in 2014 to encourage more three-and-four star hotels to be built to offer more budget-friendly accommodation for a wider variety of travellers.

“What we've also been able to do over the years is really instigate the product offering from the three-and-four-star segment. So we've talked to all our partners and stakeholders in the sector and they've become quite efficient in the way that they price their product at the right time to really bring in the numbers as well. They've seen a massive growth in terms of occupancy on their side,” Mr Kazim said.

The tourism sector, an important pillar of the emirate's economy, has strongly rebounded from the coronavirus-induced slowdown. Last year, Dubai International Airport retained its crown as the world's busiest international hub for passengers for the 10th consecutive year amid an increase in long-haul travel demand.

From January to March, the Western Europe region was Dubai’s biggest source market with 1.138 million arrivals, followed by South Asia with 869,000 visitors, the DET said.

About 817,000 visitors were recorded from countries belonging to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Eastern Europe.

“The markets we've seen good growth in is the CIS region, we're still seeing great opportunity there as well. In the US and North America in general we see growth and we see great potential still,” Mr Kazim said.

Dubai’s hotels maintained a room occupancy rate of 83 per cent in the first quarter despite a 2 per cent year-over-year increase in overall room supply, the DET said.

In the first quarter of 2024, there were 11.2 million occupied room nights, representing a 2 per cent increase from the 10.98 million occupied room nights in the same period last year.

Hotel revenue per available room, a crucial gauge of performance for the industry, reached Dh527 ($143.48) in the first quarter, up by 4 per cent compared to the first three months of last year.

“In addition to our high-performing tourism ecosystem, these figures also continue to be spurred by upswings in the number of international businesses setting up, existing companies expanding business lines and catchment footprint from Dubai,” said Helal Al Marri, director general of DET.

DWC's new passenger terminal

Dubai's recently announced new passenger terminal at its second airport at Al Maktoum International – the emirate's second hub known as Dubai World Central (DWC) – will increase capacity to handle the projected 10-year growth in international tourist arrivals, according to Mr Kazim.

“It plays a big role in that … because there are capacity limitations,” he said.

“When we put campaigns out there we can that there is a demand surge, the search for Dubai goes up, bookings for Dubai go up but we are also limited in many cases by airport and airline capacity.”

As Dubai International Airport reaches the limits of its capacity, the move to an expanded new airport at DWC becomes necessary.

“It's time that Dubai actually had an airport that can keep up with the demand that the tourism segment is bringing in,” Mr Kazim said.

“As a logistics hub, being right next to the Jebel Ali Free Zone and creating that logistics corridor … it's not just going to be the [tourism] destination.”

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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

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FA Cup semi-finals

Saturday: Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur, 8.15pm (UAE)
Sunday: Chelsea v Southampton, 6pm (UAE)

Matches on Bein Sports

Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Astra%20Tech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdallah%20Abu%20Sheikh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20technology%20investment%20and%20development%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X

Price, as tested: Dh84,000

Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo

Transmission: Six-speed auto

Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm

Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Profile of Tamatem

Date started: March 2013

Founder: Hussam Hammo

Based: Amman, Jordan

Employees: 55

Funding: $6m

Funders: Wamda Capital, Modern Electronics (part of Al Falaisah Group) and North Base Media

The biog

Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology

Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India

Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur

How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993

Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters

Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo

Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica

Best Agent: Jorge Mendes

Best Club : Liverpool   

 Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)  

 Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker

 Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo

 Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP

 Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart

Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)

Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)

Best Women's Player:  Lucy Bronze

Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi

 Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)

 Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)

 Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Where to apply

Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020

Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.

The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020. 

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

The Penguin

Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz

Creator: Lauren LeFranc

Rating: 4/5

Classification of skills

A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation. 

A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.

The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000. 

Last five meetings

2013: South Korea 0-2 Brazil

2002: South Korea 2-3 Brazil

1999: South Korea 1-0 Brazil

1997: South Korea 1-2 Brazil

1995: South Korea 0-1 Brazil

Note: All friendlies

Updated: May 06, 2024, 2:44 PM