A report on tourism reveals that Dubai welcomed 16.73 million tourists in 2019, its highest number yet, an increase of 5.1% compared to the previous year, and ranks Dubai as the fourth most visited destination in the world, behind Bangkok, London and Paris and ahead of Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and New York.
Western Europe accounted for 20% of visitors to Dubai and the GCC accounted for 18%, with visitors coming from all over the world. The most popular source countries were:
- India - 12%
- KSA - 9%
- United Kingdom - 7%
- Oman - 6%
- China - 6%
- Russia - 4%
- USA - 4%
- Germany - 3%
- Pakistan - 3%
- Philippines - 3%
Tourism arrivals during the summer months increased by 13% in 2019 compared ot 2018, further demonstrating Dubai's position as an all year round destination.
Visitor numbers at the start of 2020 also demonstrated growth with an increase in visitors of 4.2% in January and February compared to the same two months n 2019, however the impact of coronavirus COVID-19 effectively shut down the tourism industry for four months with tourists being welcomed back to Dubai from 7 July.
The tourism sector in Dubai contributes 11.5% to the Emirates GDP annually.