What countries are the travel industry's most recovered? UAE tops world ranking

In 2022, the Emirates has surpassed its pre-pandemic tourism levels

The UAE has been named the travel industry’s most recovered country in 2022.

A global report by travel technology company Travelport found that the Emirates has surpassed its pre-pandemic tourism numbers, recovering to 110 per cent of its 2019 levels.

A successful Covid-19 vaccination drive and a busy calendar of events have been key factors in the country’s speedy recovery.

Having hosted the recently concluded Expo 2020 Dubai, the UAE is attracting travellers from several destinations. Visitors flock to the country for guaranteed sunshine, luxury hotels, pristine beaches and more.

Travellers are also being reassured by the country's response to the pandemic, with more than 98.49 per cent of the population fully vaccinated, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Click through the gallery above to see the top 15 recovered countries in the world according to Travelport.

When it comes to where people in the UAE are travelling to, it's Dubai that leads the way. Home to the world's tallest skyscraper, the only "seven-star" hotel and the newly opened Museum of the Future, the city is the second-most recovered spot in the Middle East and the fifth most recovered globally, according to Travelport.

It ranks behind long-standing popular tourist destinations in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Mexico, and just behind Saudi Arabia's Riyadh.

The kingdom's capital city has had an even more impressive recovery, with tourist levels returning to 115 per cent of its pre-pandemic figures.

The UAE's capital also shows a strong recovery, with Travelport finding that Abu Dhabi is 85 per cent recovered.

Which cities around the world have recovered fastest for tourism?

Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic is the travel industry's most recovered city in the world. Photo: Unsplash / Joshua Wilkinson

1. Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (136 per cent)

2. Montego Bay, Jamaica (132 per cent)

3. Cancun, Mexico (124 per cent)

4. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (115 per cent)

5. Dubai, UAE (114 per cent)

Dubai is first in the world for business travel, outpacing London

Top inbound markets for travel to the UAE include the UK, India and Bangladesh, with travellers also regularly flying in from Pakistan, Germany and Saudi Arabia.

Globally, the travel industry has recovered more than 67 per cent of its gross activity to date, with a 14 per cent growth rate in the first three months of 2022, as Covid-19 cases decline in many countries and governments ease travel restrictions and reopen borders.

Considering travel volume as part of the recovery index, Travelport ranked the top 15 recovered countries in the world, based on bookings made up until the beginning of March 2022. These include a mix of tourism destinations and places where people are returning to their home countries or travelling for work purposes.

Behind the UAE is the Dominican Republic, followed by Mexico in third place.

Dubai is ranked first in the world for business travel, outpacing London which led the sector in 2019. Photo: DTCM

Dubai is also enjoying an impressive recovery when it comes to business travel. Initial concerns that global corporate travel would not recover because companies have adapted to new digital and virtual ways of working during the pandemic now seem less severe.

Dubai is outpacing several international destinations, with almost one-third of all 2022 bookings being for business travel. In corporate travel, the emirate now outpaces London, which was first in this sector in 2019.

Business travellers to Dubai are predominantly arriving from nine different destinations, led by India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and closely followed by Saudi Arabia and the UK.

Updated: April 07, 2022, 8:27 AM