In the first quarter of 2018, Dubai was visited by 2% more tourists than in the same period last year.
According to new data from the Department of Tourism and Commercial Marketing of Dubai, about 4.7 million foreign tourists visited Dubai in the first quarter of 2018, which is 2 percent higher than in the same period last year.
According to the Dubai Tourism Department, in 2018 the number of tourists from India increased by 7% to 617 thousand people, tourists from Saudi Arabia came in second place (a decrease of 1%), the number of tourists from the UK also fell - by 8%.
Tourists from Russia ranked fourth, in the 1st quarter of 2018, more than 259 thousand tourists from the Russian Federation visited Dubai. This figure is 106% more than in the 1st quarter of 2017, the Dubai Tourism Department associates growth with the simplification of the visa regime for Russians. Fifth place was taken by China (258 thousand people), which is 12% higher compared to last year.
Also, the growth of tourists to Dubai is observed from most European countries. For example, tourists from Germany took the seventh place (194 thousand people, an increase of 13%), tourist flow from France grew by 12% to 103 thousand people, the number of tourists from Italy increased by 2% to 80 thousand people.
It is worth noting that the tourist flow from Oman decreased by 4% compared with the first quarter of 2017, but the number of tourists from the United States, by contrast, increased by 2%. Iran is in ninth place; in the first quarter of this year, Dubai was visited by 19% fewer tourists from this country.
"In the first quarter of this year, we could see a steady increase in the flow of tourists, accompanied by an increase in related industries such as the hotel business and air travel," said Khelal Saeed Almari, Director General of Dubai Tourism Department. Mr. Almari added that at the end of this year a number of new attractions will open in Dubai, which is likely to increase the attractiveness of the emirate for potential tourists.
