Dubai surpasses pre-pandemic visitor numbers

Dubai’s resurgent tourism industry is celebrating a successful first half of 2023 after welcoming a record 8.55 million international overnight visitors.

These figures surpass the pre-pandemic levels of 8.36 million tourists in H1 2019.

Latest data released by the Department of Economy and Tourism shows the city steadily advancing towards its goal of becoming the world’s most visited destination.

Dubai’s hotels outperformed pre-pandemic levels across all hospitality metrics in H1 2023 including occupancy, Average Daily Rate (ADR), Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) and length of stay.

Among the highest in the world, Dubai hotels' average occupancy of 78 per cent is 2.2 per cent points higher than the occupancy achieved for the same period in H1 2019.

The record H1 performance reflects the successful and diverse city-wide drive to market the destination, with the support of stakeholders and partners, and under the guidance of Dubai’s leadership.

It also reaffirms Dubai’s position as the fastest recovering destination globally, and far exceeds the projection made by the United Nations World Trade Organisation that international tourist arrivals could reach between 80-95% of pre-pandemic levels this year.

Dubai's Tourism Sector Witnesses Remarkable Growth in H1 2023

- 20% YoY visitation growth
- 8.55 million international visitors
- 78% Dubai’s average hotel occupancyhttps://t.co/CXP7lS53Rm pic.twitter.com/FYTb5K9Z7m

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) August 6, 2023