Dubai welcomed 9.31 million international overnight visitors from January to June 2024, a 9% increase over the 8.55 million tourist arrivals in the first half of 2023, according to data published by Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET).
Following a landmark 2023, when the city hosted 17.15 million international overnight visitors, Dubai maintained its robust tourism momentum into the first six months of this year, putting the city on track for a record performance in 2024. Driven by DET’s efforts in collaboration with stakeholders and partners, the growth in international visitation aligns with the overarching objective to make Dubai the best city to visit, live, and work in.
Global accolades and TikTok success
The rise in international visitation during H1 is the result of citywide strategies established across key tourism pillars, created and implemented in partnership with stakeholders across the public and private sectors. Beyond the growth demonstrated through the performance, these efforts also yielded international recognition. Starting 2024 on a high note, Dubai was named the No.1 global destination for an unprecedented third successive year in the Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards in January, making it the first city to achieve this unique accolade.
Adding to its impressive list of accolades, travel experts at Bounce found Dubai has emerged as the most popular city on TikTok, boasting over 29.7 million posts, ahead of London (10.3 million posts) and Paris (8.8 million posts). This achievement underscores Dubai’s appeal on the fastest-growing social media platform, where travellers often seek inspiration for their next getaway. With TikTok’s user base exceeding 1 billion monthly active users, Dubai’s prominence on the platform further solidifies its position as a top global destination for each type of traveller.
Growth from Australasia
DET’s targeted campaigns resulted in Dubai achieving impressive growth in key markets in the first half of 2024. From January to June 2024, Australasia showed remarkable growth, contributing 154,000 visitors (2% of the total), marking a substantial 27% increase from the 121,000 visitors recorded in the same period last year.
Hotels and hospitality
World-class hotels and accommodation continue to be one of the core pillars of Dubai’s destination offering, and adding to the city’s appeal for global visitors, H1 saw a number of high-profile openings including: The Lana, Dorchester Collection’s first Middle East property; SIRO One Za’abeel, Dubai’s first fitness hotel; and Hilton Dubai Creek Hotel & Residences. The city’s accommodation portfolio will continue to grow with new openings planned throughout the rest of the year, as part of a strategic approach to expanding inventory to meet demand and ensure Dubai offers visitors a wide range of experiences and options across different categories and price points.
According to DET’s latest data, the emirate’s hotel sector continued to perform well across all hospitality metrics from January to June, including occupancy, average daily rate (ADR), revenue per available room (RevPAR), and guests’ length of stay. Among the highest in the world, Dubai hotels’ average occupancy of 78.7% is a 1.0 percentage point higher than the 77.7% occupancy achieved for the same period in 2023. Occupied room nights increased by 3%, with 21.35 million at the end of H1 2024, compared to 20.73 million in H1 2023.
Issam Kazim, CEO of the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), said: “Dubai has continued to stay ahead of the curve by further elevating standards with innovative and distinctive world-class infrastructure, experiences and attractions. An exceptional quality of life, safety, and accessibility have been consistently recognised across multiple global indices and we are committed to leveraging partnerships between the public and private sectors to showcase Dubai as a must-visit destination. The unwavering support of our partners and stakeholders will be crucial in driving our strong global and market-specific campaigns this summer, as we look to build on this positive growth throughout the rest of 2024.”
A global culinary and cruise hub
Dubai’s position as a world gastronomy capital was further reinforced after the third edition of the MICHELIN Guide Dubai was unveiled in July. The guide featured 106 restaurants, up from 90 in 2023, including four that were awarded two MICHELIN stars, 15 with one star, three with a green star, 18 Bib Gourmands, and 69 MICHELIN-selected restaurants. On the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 list, Trèsind Studio was ranked at No.13 and named the best restaurant in the Middle East, while Orfali Bros Bistro was ranked at No.64 on the extended list. Dubai is also placed at No.9 on Time Out’s 2024 ranking of ‘the world’s 20 best cities for food right now’.
The ongoing expansion of the cruise sector is also seeing significant benefits for Dubai, and in the 2023/2024 winter season from October to April the emirate welcomed more than 132 ship calls between Mina Rashid and Dubai Harbour. In March at ITB in Berlin, Dubai joined forces with other regional maritime and tourism authorities to formalise the strategic Cruise Arabia alliance, to promote the Arabian Gulf as a cruise ship destination globally.
International events destination
Dubai’s status as a global entertainment hub is bolstered by a year-round calendar of business, leisure and sporting events, which continue to attract international tourists. Organised by Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), some of Dubai’s biggest annual events were held during the first half of the year, including Dubai Shopping Festival, Chinese New Year, Ramadan in Dubai, Eid in Dubai, and Dubai Food Festival. The ongoing Dubai Summer Surprises is one of Dubai’s major shopping and entertainment events which makes the city as lively and vibrant in the summer season as it is during all other times of the year, further reinforcing Dubai’s position as a leading summer destination for families. Upcoming events throughout the rest of 2024 include Dubai Fashion Season Fall/Winter, Dubai Fitness Challenge, golf’s DP World Tour Championship, Emirates Dubai 7s, and UAE Union Day.
Business events also played a critical role – both through the major homegrown trade shows the city hosts annually, as well as the conferences and meetings brought to the city as a result of bidding activity driven by Dubai Business Events. So far this year Dubai has hosted a number of major industry exhibitions and shows that have attracted thousands of visitors and exhibitors, including Gulfood (150,000 attendees), Arabian Travel Market (46,000 attendees), and the landmark 30th Dubai International Boat Show (more than 1,000 brands and 200 boats).
Sustainability initiatives
The UAE’s ‘Year of Sustainability’ was extended into 2024 and Dubai’s tourism and hospitality sectors continued to spearhead the city’s ecotourism strategy. Released by DET in May, the inaugural ‘Dubai Sustainability Report’ highlighted the development plans and achievements that support global objectives such as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 2030, and country-wide strategies including the UAE’s Net Zero 2050 initiative.
As part of DET’s ongoing Dubai Sustainable Tourism drive, the Dubai Sustainable Tourism Stamp was awarded to 70 hotels in January, with more to be named in the coming months. The stamp recognises hotels with the highest level of adherence to DET’s ‘19 Sustainability Requirements’, through a three-tier scheme with categories Gold, Silver and Bronze.
Another major citywide sustainability initiative is Dubai Can, which is aligned with efforts to transform the emirate into a leading sustainable destination and the best city in the world to visit, live and work in. Since its launch in February 2022, the Dubai Can initiative, through its ‘Refill for Life’ campaign, has seen the reduction in the usage of an equivalent of more than 20.4 million 500ml single-use plastic water bottles and 10.5 million litres of water dispensed via 50 water fountains located throughout the city. A major milestone for Dubai’s sustainability drive in H1 2024 was the launch of Dubai Reef’s pilot reef modules in April. Part of Dubai Can, Dubai Reef is the world’s largest marine reef development project, with 20,000 modules set to be deployed across 600 square kilometres of Dubai’s waters by 2027.
