Dubai: The UAE’s tourism revenues surpassed $5 billion in the first half of this year, with a strong performance expected this winter when neighbouring Qatar hosts the FIFA World Cup.
“Our tourism sector’s revenues surpassed Dh19 billion in the first half of 2022. The total number of hotel guests reached 12 million, achieving 42 per cent growth, and we expect a strong tourism performance in this winter season,” His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said.
Dubai is expecting to host large numbers of football fans during the World Cup in November and December. The emirate is one of the Gulf cities operating daily shuttle flights to and from Qatar during the tournament.
Of the more than 90 new flights that will land each day in the host city, Doha, about 40 will leave from the UAE.
Dubai airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, handled 27.9 million passengers in the first half of this year, up more than 160 per cent on the same period of 2021, it said last month.
During the first six months of 2022, DXB handled a total of 154,993 flight movements, up 55.9 per cent compared to the first half of 2021.
The airport expects to host 62.4 million passengers for the full year.
A quick vaccination roll-out allowed the UAE to bounce back quickly from the pandemic, enjoying a sharp uptick in visitors as Dubai hosted the Expo world fair from last October to March.
