Dubai is sixth most visited city on earth: Euromonitor

Dubai: Dubai has retained its crown as the most visited city in the Middle East and landed sixth in the world in the latest global ranking of tourist destinations.

Euromonitor International unveiled on Tuesday the Top 100 City Destinations Ranking for 2017 and the latest report shows there are now more tourists visiting Dubai than many other places on earth. 

Top performing cities in Middle East, 2017

Dubai has moved one place up, from the seventh to the sixth position, edging out tourist hotspots like Paris, New York, Rome and Tokyo.

It is the only Middle Eastern city in the top ten and is expected to attract more than 26 million visitors by 2025, overtaking London, which is currently in the third place.

Overall, Hong Kong held on to its title of the most visited city in the world for the eighth consecutive year, followed by Bangkok.

The top ten most visited cities in the world are:

1.Hong Kong: 26.6 million visitors
2.Bangkok: 21.2 million visitors
3.London: 19.2 million visitors
4.Singapore: 16.6 million visitors
5.Macau: 15.4 million visitors
6.Dubai: 14.9 million visitors
7.Paris: 14.4 million visitors
8.New York: 12.7 million visitors
9.Shenzhen: 12.6 million visitors
Kuala Lumpur: 12.3 million visitors

According to Euromonitor’s data, the number of tourists visiting Dubai has jumped by 11.2 per cent, from 14.9 million in 2016 to more than 16.5 million in 2017, making it a far more popular destination of choice for travellers compared to most cities on earth.

“Dubai seems insulated from all the turmoil that is going on around it. The city’s tourism industry is booming,” Euromonitor said.

The city’s rise to popularity is thanks to the integrated approach by all industry players under the 2020 vision.

This year, Dubai is regarded as the most sought-after destination for business travellers, or for meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions (MICE) due to its modern infrastructure and premium lodging landscape.

“Regional offices in free zones further strengthen the case for business travellers,” said Nikola Kosutic, Euromonitor senior research manager.

“Dubai’s focus on developing world-class theme parks across adventure and entertainment, such as Legoland and Motiongate, are driving demand in the family holiday segment,” she added.

“The dominance of four to five-star lodging discourages aspiring tourists from developing countries but expansion of mid-market options and Airbnb helps bridge the gap thereby sourcing more tourists.”

Other key takeaways of the new ranking

Dubai is by far the largest and fastest-growing destination in the Middle East and Africa, but Saudi Arabia has three cities in the top ranking.

"The hajj is a major draw for arrivals to the country, but the kingdom is looking to ensure it is not just Mecca that benefits," Euromonitor said. "While Dubai is booming, many cities are dealing with turmoil."

The top ten most visited Middle East and African cities are:

1. Dubai
2.​Mecca
3.Johannesburg
4.Riyadh
5.Dammam City
6.Cairo
7.Doha
8.Jerusalem
9.Tel Aviv
10.Marrakech

Dubai has recently bagged a number of awards during the World Travel Awards, which seeks to honour excellence in the tourism industry.

The emirate was named the Middle East’s leading destination of the year, while a number of its landmarks, including the Burj Khalifa and Burj Al Arab  were declared the region’s leading tourist attraction and leading all-suite hotel for 2017, respectively.

Full list: 100 Most visitied cities on earth:

1. Hong Kong
2. Bangkok
3. London
4. Singapore
5. Macau
6. Dubai
7. Paris
8. New York
9. Shenzhen
10. Kuala Lumpur
11. Phuket
12. Rome
13. Tokyo
14. Taipei
15. Istanbul
16. Seoul
17. Guangzhou
18. Prague
19. Mecca
20. Miami
21. Delhi
22. Mumbai
23. Barcelona
24. Pattaya
25. Shanghai
26. Las Vegas
27. Milan
28. Amsterdam
29. Antalya
30. Vienna
31. Los Angeles
32. Cancun
33. Osaka
34. Berlin
35. Agra
36. Ho Chi Minh City
37. Johannesburg
38. Venice
39. Madrid
40. Orlando
41. Riyadh
42. Johor Bahru
43. Dublin
44. Florence
45. Chennai
46. Mosco
47. Athens
48. Jaipur
49. Beijing
50. Denpasar
51. Toronto
52. Ha Noi
53. Sydney
54. San Franciso
55. Budapest
56. Ha Long
57. Punta Cana
58. Damman City
59. Munich
60. Zhuhai
61. Lisbon
62. Cairo
63. Penang Island
64. Doha
65. Copenhagen
66. Heraklion
67. Jerusalem
68. Edirne
69. Phnom Penh
70. St Petersburg
71. Jeju
72. Kyoto
73. Chiang Mai
74. Warsaw
75. Krakow
76. Honolulu
77. Melbourne
78. Tel Aviv
79. Marrakech
80. Brussels
81. Auckland
82. Vancouver
83. Jakarta
84. Frankfurt
85. Artvin
86. Guilin
87. Stockholm
88. Rio de Janeiro
89. Kolkata
90. Buenos Aires
91. Chiba
92. Siem Reap
93. Nice
94. Mexico City
95. Lima
96. Taichung
97. Rhodes
98. Washington DC
99. Abu Dhabi
100. Colombo