Dubai welcomes over 1.6m Saudi travelers in 2016
Dubai welcomed over 1.6 million overnight visitors from Saudi Arabia last year. This was revealed in the Annual Visitor Report 2016 released by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing ( Dubai Tourism) during the 2017 Arabian Travel Market.
This marks a strong increase of 6 percent over 2015, and reaffirms Dubai’s position as one of the most popular travel destinations among Saudis. Furthermore, the Kingdom’s sizeable contribution toward the total of 14.9 million tourists that visited Dubai last year was second only to India’s 1.8 million.
The GCC remained the No.1 volume generator for tourism to Dubai, delivering the highest share of visitor volumes for 2016 with a total of 3.4 million, up 5 percent over 2015. Saudi Arabia remained the dominant market within the region, bringing firsttime and significant repeat travelers to Dubai, followed by Oman, which accounted for over 1 million overnight visitors. Kuwait and Qatar both retained their top 20 status among Dubai’s source markets, registering an annual growth of 2 percent and 9 percent respectively.
Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Tourism, said: “The rising popularity of Dubai as a destination of choice reflects our relentless investments in building a vibrant tourism offering for visitors from across the region and beyond, as well as our concerted efforts to promote our Arabian heritage.
“In many ways, Dubai represents a ‘home-from-home’ experience for our neighbors, making both an extended holiday and quick getaway an attractive travel proposition. A short flight from their home country opens up unique experiences for our guests from the GCC — who are made up of large families with children, young couples, business visitors, solo travelers and adventure- seekers.”
He added: “Our performance in 2016 underscores the resilience of Dubai’s tourism sector and its ability to navigate multiple global headwinds as we remain the fourth most visited city in the world. Our worldclass infrastructure and transportation system, incredible shopping and entertainment attractions, range of leisure and recreational experiences, unrivaled hospitality portfolio comprising international and home- grown brands, and our shared cultural heritage continue to drive visitation from the region and surpass forecasts for the global tourism industry.”