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The UK is now the third biggest source market for international tourism to Dubai, according to new figures released by Dubai Tourism.
Figures show more than 11.7M international overnight visitors arrived in Dubai during the first 10 months of 2015 – an 8.3% (900,000) increase compared to the same period in 2014 (the increase in numbers goes hand in hand with a 7% rise in hotel room supply over the same period).
Asia showed the largest growth, with a 54% and 32% increase in international overnight visitors from the Philippines and China respectively, however the UK and Germany also saw double-digit growth (12% and 11% respectively).
Other Western markets such as Canada and the US also saw healthy increases in visitors as the city appeals to an ever-broader audience. The Middle East remains the largest regional source market with a 24% share of Dubai’s total visitors, while Western European visitors contributed 20% to the total number of visitors.
The city’s strengthened and diverse offering means it is on track to achieve its ambition of attracting 20 million visitors per year by 2020.
Ian Scott, director UK & Ireland Dubai Tourism, said, “To date this year, the UK showed the third largest increase in international visitors to Dubai with a strong 12% UK visitor growth. It is great to see the UK market growing at such a rate as Dubai continues to broaden its appeal to everyone, from families to couples, thanks to its diverse offering and we look forward to continue driving this in 2016.”
| Dubai’s Top 20 Source Markets | ||||
| Ranking | Markets | Number of Visitors in 2015 | Number of Visitors in 2014 | Perecentage increase/decrease |
| 1 | KSA | 1,316,000 | 1,114,000 | 18% |
| 2 | India | 1,269,000 | 1,012,000 | 25% |
| 3 | UK | 974,000 | 871,000 | 12% |
| 4 | Oman | 830,000 | 704,000 | 18% |
| 5 | US | 490,000 | 473,000 | 4% |
| 6 | Pakistan | 421,000 | 380,000 | 11% |
| 7 | Iran | 396,000 | 360,000 | 10% |
| 8 | China | 379,000 | 286,000 | 32% |
| 9 | Germany | 367,000 | 331,000 | 11% |
| 10 | Kuwait | 361,000 | 398,000 | -9% |
| 11 | Australia | 273,000 | 296,000 | -8% |
| 12 | Philippines | 262,000 | 171,000 | 54% |
| 13 | Egypt | 253,000 | 216,000 | 17% |
| 14 | France | 203,000 | 211,000 | -4% |
| 15 | Russia | 164,000 | 341,000 | -52% |
| 16 | Nigeria | 163,000 | 185,000 | -12% |
| 17 | Qatar | 157,000 | 118,000 | 32% |
| 18 | Italy | 155,000 | 151,000 | 3% |
| 19 | Jordan | 153,000 | 127,000 | 21% |
| 20 | Canada | 133,000 | 118,000 | 13% |
*These results capture tourism numbers from Jan-Oct 15.
