DUBAI - Dubai, the world's ninth global tourist destination, is set to become 18th in the world in terms of the volume of international visitor spend anticipated to be $7.8 billion in 2011, a research report said.
Dubai, which also outshines cities such as New York, Amsterdam, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai in terms of the sheer number of inbound tourists expected to arrive this year, is expected to draw 7.9 million international visitors this year, representing a growth rate of 17.3 per cent when compared to 2010, the recently released MasterCard Worldwide Index of Global Destination Cities, shows.
Multifaceted Dubai features prominently on the Index, coming in ninth in terms of numbers of inbound international visitors expected this year.
CB Richard Ellis recently ranked Dubai among the top 10 most popular business locations in the world with more than half of the biggest global conglomerates operating offices in the city. The rankings compared global cities by the number of international firms operating offices there, using 280 companies as a benchmark. Of those companies profiled, just over half (56.1 per cent) have an office presence in Dubai ranking it in ninth place overall, while the UAE as a whole was ranked 15th in the country ranking, with 171 companies present (61.1 per cent).
Despite the regional unrest, Dubai hotels have been reporting brisk occupancy rates over the past months. In May, Dubai's hotels witnessed an increase in occupancy of 8.7 per cent to reach 81.3 per cent during April, which is an achievement in the face of increased supply, said the latest Deloitte Analysis of Selected STR Global Hotel Performance Data. Dubai's hotels witnessed an increase of 13.3 per cent in RevPAR (revenue per available room) to reach $217 during the month of April.
Dubai's international visitor spend is expected to surge 24 per cent to $7.8 billion from $6.3 billion in 2010 and $5.2 billion in 2009, while according to MasterCard. Abu Dhabi expects to see an increase of 15.5 per cent in international visitors with the total tourist spend surging 21.8 per cent to $2 billion this year.
According to a survey by Knight Frank, regarded as a monitor of city-level power shifts, Dubai is expected to jump up the list of most influential global cities by 2020 but New York and London will remain on top. However, following a tough period in which key conglomerate Dubai World had to restructure debts of nearly $25 billion, Dubai has fallen to 32nd in Knight Frank's Global Cities Index for 2011.
The rankings, based on economic activity, political power, quality of life and knowledge and influence, showed Dubai had fallen one place compared to the previous year.
For travellers from Beijing, who account for Dubai's third-largest source of visitors, the emirate is not only the easiest place in the UAE to visit, but also provides a taste of the region without having to visit the entire? Middle East.
London, Kuwait and Beijing emerged as the top three origin cities for Dubai in terms of number of inbound passenger arrivals. "We are delighted to see Dubai and Abu Dhabi rank as two prominent worldwide destinations in MasterCard's latest study," said Raghu Malhotra, MasterCard Middle East general manager.
"MasterCard continually strives to offer exclusive benefits to our cardholders this travel season as we are giving cardholders more opportunities to break away with their families. The UAE, with its renowned hospitality and retail offerings is a key destination for visitors and we aim to ensure that their trip to the UAE is filled with yet more priceless moments."
