Sheikh Mohammed sets out 40 million tourist target as 30th Arabian Travel Market opens
▶ No sign of tightened purse strings on first day of Arabian Travel Market
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has hailed the UAE tourism sector’s post-pandemic revival and underlined the country’s ambitions to attract 40 million hotel guests a year by 2031.
Sheikh Mohammed set out the UAE’s plans to establish the “best and most active economy in the world” – with tourism growth at its heart – after visiting the opening day of the 30th annual Arabian Travel Market yesterday.
Tens of thousands of people are expected to flock to Dubai World Trade Centre for the four-day global gathering.
The Vice President delivered an upbeat address in which he highlighted global tourism’s resurgence following three years of decline brought about by the Covid-19 outbreak. Sheikh Mohammed said the Emirates witnessed a 70 per cent increase in tourism spending last year, which he said was the best in the region.
“Global tourism has rebounded after three years of decline,” Sheikh Mohammed wrote on Twitter.
“The UAE’s tourism sector has also made a strong comeback, with tourist spending in 2022 increasing by 70 per cent to reach Dh121 billion ($32.9billion), leading the region.
“We have set a target of reaching 40 million tourists within seven years, and increasing the tourism sector’s contribution to our GDP to Dh450 billion. “We remain committed to developing all sectors of our national economy, with the goal of building the best and most active economy in the world.”
Dubai is on track to exceed its pre-pandemic annual number of international visitors this year, after it recorded a 17 per cent increase in the tourist numbers in the first three months of 2023, the emirate’s tourism chief said yesterday.
The emirate hosted 4.67 million overnight visitors to the end of March, compared with 3.97 million tourists during the same period last year, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism said.
This is close to the 4.75 million visitors in the first quarter of 2019, before the pandemic.
The latest numbers place the emirate firmly on track to becoming the most-visited destination, the department said.
“Our aim is to exceed last year’s number and our aim is to do better than we did in 2019,” Issam Kazim, chief executive of the Dubai Department for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, told The National.
Dubai is gearing up for visitors from China, as the country reopens following Covid-19 related travel restrictions.
Initiatives include providing menus in Mandarin, having at least one employee who speaks the language and offering Chinese dishes at buffets.
“We are aggressive about being China-ready,” said William Harley-Fleming, vice-president of operations for UAE firm JA Resorts.
The global cost of living crisis has failed to dent surging demand for travel to the UAE, industry experts have said.
Tourism and hospitality leaders said the sector was exceeding expectations in challenging times around the world.
They told of travellers embracing luxury and staying for longer, as a renewed thirst for tourism after the coronavirus pandemic shows no sign of slowing down.
That enthusiasm was on show as thousands flocked to the first day of the 30th Arabian Travel Market in Dubai yesterday.
Organisers expect up to 34,000 visitors over the fourday event, which has a theme of cutting carbon emissions.
“The tourism industry is much more resilient than most thought at first,” said Carlo Olejniczak, regional managing director of Booking.com.
“More people are travelling month on month despite the oil and gas crisis and the impact inflation has had on the cost of living.
“The tourism sector is so strong right now.
“If people are cutting costs, they are certainly not doing it on travel expenses.”
He spoke at the event at Dubai World Trade Centre.
Booking.com’s data has shown people are not prepared to compromise on other aspects of their travel. “You might think people would try to save money on the types of hotels they were staying in but that’s not the case at all,” he said.
“People are not downsizing on the types of hotels they are staying in when they travel, if anything they are staying for longer.”
His comments came as Booking.com released a report on sustainable travel habits.
Among the findings was that 90 per cent of people in the UAE plan to travel more sustainably over the next year.
It also found 56 per cent of respondents in the UAE believed sustainable travel was currently too expensive.
But 54 per cent said they were happy to pay more to travel sustainably.
The survey said the majority of UAE travellers – 71 per cent – turned off the air-conditioning in accommodation when they went out and 46 per cent reused towels.
More than 33,000 people from 35 countries took part in the survey.
Other experts at the event agreed that tourism and travel were in rude health.
“The general consensus globally is that everyone is still going to take that holiday,” said William Harley-Fleming, vice president of operations for UAE firm JA Resorts.
“That’s despite the impact the pandemic had as well as geopolitical tensions.
“There is a pent-up demand from people who want to make up for lost time and get travelling again.”
One trend that has emerged is people booking holidays closer to the time they want to travel, he said.
“Fewer people are booking 12 to 18 months in advance than before,” he said. “We’re seeing many more people booking three to six months before they travel.”
Post-pandemic travel has led to the emergence of new markets, while others have increased their presence.
Tourists from Russia are having a big effect in the UAE.
“The Russian market has always been strong in the UAE and we are starting to see that come through again,” Mr Harley-Fleming said.
“Obviously there are those who come on holiday but we are also seeing an increase in Russian residents coming in and using our food and beverage outlets here.”
Last month, The National reported that Russians had gained a significant presence on Dubai’s property scene.
This played a major part in creating a property shortage in the emirate, estate agents said.
Another hot topic yesterday was the demand to combine remote working with a holiday.
“We’re seeing a lot of people coming in for a business trip for a few days, do the work and then spend the rest of the time having a family holiday,” Mr Harley-Fleming said.
The practice is so common it has its own name.
“We call it the ‘bleisure market’,” said Haitham Mattar, managing director in the Middle East, Africa and south-west Asia for IHG Hotels and Resorts. “If someone has a threeday work trip they might extend it to the weekend and spend that with their family.”
The tourism sector is so strong right now. If people are cutting costs, they are not doing it on travel expenses
CARLO OLEJNICZAK Booking.com