Dubai tourist numbers reach all-time high

The number of tourists to Dubai hit an all-time high in 2019.

The emirate welcomed more than 16.7 million international overnight visitors, which is a 5.1 per cent increase compared to the previous year.

According to Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), India, Saudi Arabia, the UK, Oman, China and Russia were the top source markets.

The US, Germany, Pakistan and the Philippines rounded out the top-10 list, while Nigeria was the fastest-growing source market with a 33 per cent spike in travellers to Dubai.

Contributing an impressive 11.5 per cent in GDP value, Dubai’s tourism sector was also ranked among the strongest economic share generators, by the World Travel & Tourism Council’s Cities Report 2019.

"In 2020, we will continue to accelerate the tourism momentum by showcasing Dubai’s event hosting capabilities in the run-up to Expo 2020," said Helal Saeed Almarri, Director-General of Dubai Tourism.

#Dubai’s tourism industry closed a successful decade at the end of 2019, welcoming an all-time high 16.73M int'l overnight visitors, an impressive 5.1% increase in tourism volumes, surpassing the global tourism growth forecast by the @UNWTO by over 1%.https://t.co/5wNqNXRGdt pic.twitter.com/KxICxeP2Bk

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) January 21, 2020