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.
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
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
SPECS
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More on Coronavirus in France
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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
In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Squad
Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
Florence and the Machine – High as Hope
Three stars
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
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TRAINING FOR TOKYO
A typical week's training for Sebastian, who is competing at the ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon on March 8-9:
- Four swim sessions (14km)
- Three bike sessions (200km)
- Four run sessions (45km)
- Two strength and conditioning session (two hours)
- One session therapy session at DISC Dubai
- Two-three hours of stretching and self-maintenance of the body
ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon
For more information go to www.abudhabi.triathlon.org.
India Test squad
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Vijay, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Bharatanatyam
A ancient classical dance from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Intricate footwork and expressions are used to denote spiritual stories and ideas.
