Dubai could exceed the pre-pandemic annual number of international visitors this year following a growing influx of tourists, according to a new report.
The emirate hosted 3.1 million visitors in the first two months of 2023, according to the latest data from Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism.
In January, the number of visitors increased by 50 per cent year-on-year and stood 9 per cent below pre-pandemic levels of 2019, according to an assessment by Emirates NBD.
However, in February Dubai’s tourism exceeded pre-pandemic levels with 1.63 million visitors, up 7 per cent from 2019 and 35 per cent year-on-year.
The strong start for the year shows promising signs that Dubai’s tourism may exceed the record number of visitors of 16.7 million in 2019
Emirates NBD
“The strong start for the year shows promising signs that Dubai’s tourism may exceed the record number of visitors of 16.7 million in 2019,” Emirates NBD said in a report on Monday.
The tourism sector, an important pillar of the emirate's economy, has strongly rebounded from the coronavirus-induced slowdown.
Dubai recorded 14.36 million international visitors in 2022, inching closer to the 16.73 million tourists in 2019, according to DET statistics.
Dubai also came second behind Paris in a report by Euromonitor that revealed the top 100 city destinations last year.
Business activity in Dubai's non-oil private sector economy hit a five-month high last month as output expanded on stronger increases in both jobs and inventories, with growth rates reaching multiyear records.
Dubai International Airport remained the world's busiest international hub for passengers last year for the ninth year in a row, as long-haul travel demand surged, rankings by the Airports Council International showed this month.
In March, the airport handled 16,713 flights, marking an annual increase of 23.7 per cent and surpassing pre-pandemic levels for the same period, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, chairman of Dubai Airports, said on Tuesday.
“These impressive figures reaffirm Dubai's role as a global hub for trade and travel, and resilience in the face of economic challenges around the world,” he said on Twitter.
State-owned operator Dubai Airports forecasts the number of passengers that will pass through the hub by the end of this year will reach 78 million, up from 66.1 million last year, as the UAE prepares to host major international events such as the Dubai Airshow and the Cop28 climate summit.
A full recovery to pre-pandemic levels on a monthly basis could come by the end of this year, or the beginning of next year, if monthly passenger figures reach 7.5 million, Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Dubai Airports, told The National in February.
In the first two months of the year, western Europe was the largest source of visitors to Dubai by region, making up 22 per cent of the total volume, the latest DET data showed.
The GCC and South Asia followed, each accounting for 16 per cent. India was the largest source of tourists to Dubai by country, with 401,000 visitors in January and February. This was followed by Russia with 229,000, Oman with 201,000, the UK with 196,000 and Saudi Arabia with 183,000.
Oman overtook Saudi Arabia as the largest source of tourists from the GCC countries to Dubai in the first two months of the year. Visitor numbers from Saudi Arabia are still about one-third below pre-pandemic levels for the first two months of the year, while the number of visitors from Oman is around 15 per cent above January-February 2019 levels.
Chinese visitors, one of the largest sources of tourism to Dubai in the last decade, grew 176 per cent year-on-year to 52,000 in January and February. However, this was down 75 per cent for the same period in 2019.
“We do expect the number of visitors from China to Dubai to continue to rise over the course of the year,” Emirates NBD said in its report.
Last month, the director general of Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism said he expects a greater influx of Chinese tourists within the next six to 12 months, after the Asian country loosened Covid-related travel restrictions, as airlines increase the number of international flights.
Dubai's hospitability sector is also rebounding strongly. Hotel occupancy rates in January and February rose to 84.4 per cent, up from the 78 per cent recorded in the first two months of 2022 and 84 per cent in 2019, according to DET data.
“Although the guests’ length of stay declined from 4.3 nights to an average of four nights, and the average daily rate declined by 2 per cent to Dh623, the average revenue per available room increased by 6 per cent year-on-year to Dh514, a 19 per cent increase from 2019, despite the significant rise in the supply of available rooms,” Emirates NBD said.
The number of total available rooms grew by 7 per cent on an annual basis to 148,450 rooms. Five-star hotels had the largest share of the inventory with 34 per cent, while four stars hotels comprised 29 per cent and hotels from one to three stars made up 20 per cent, DET data showed.
A calendar of corporate and entertainment events, coupled with the increase in tourist numbers, have “firmly placed the hospitality sector on a growth track”, according to Faraz Ahmed, associate at the research unit of property consultancy JLL Mena.
Dubai’s hotel stock rose to 150,000 keys in the first quarter of the year, with the delivery of around 2,000 keys, according to a JLL report on Tuesday. Propelled by increased demand, around 8,000 keys are expected to be delivered in the year, it said.
“With the continuous growth in tourist numbers and a well-planned calendar of events throughout the year to cater to various segments of the market, the hospitality industry is expected to sustain its growth in the UAE,” the report said.
However, global economic volatilities continue to influence travel trends worldwide, making it critical for hotel operators to apply “effective revenue management strategies” to boost their top-line revenue, particularly for those in the luxury segment, JLL said.
Explainer: Tanween Design Programme
Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.
The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.
It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.
The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.
Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”
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Profile of MoneyFellows
Founder: Ahmed Wadi
Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund
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Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
