STOCK DUBAI AIRPORT / TERMINAL 3 / EMIRATES
The GCC (311,000 visitors, 18%) & South Asia (294,000 visitors, 17%) follow Western Europe as top tourist source regions for Dubai. Image Credit: Virendra Saklani/Gulf News

Dubai: Dubai welcomed 1.77 million international tourists in January 2024, an increase of 21 per cent compared to 1.47 million visitors in the same period of 2023.

Get exclusive content with Gulf News WhatsApp channel

According to the Dubai Tourism Performance Report for January issued by the Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism, Western Europe ranked first in terms of source markets for international tourists to Dubai with a share of over 18 per cent and a number of 327,000 visitors.

The GCC countries followed with 311,000 visitors, representing nearly 18 per cent, and South Asia ranked third with 294,000 visitors, accounting for about 17 per cent of the total international visitors to the emirate.

The number of international visitors from Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Eastern Europe reached 262,000 or 15 per cent, ranking fourth, while the number of visitors from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region reached 211,000 or 12 per cent of the total number of tourists coming to Dubai, ranking fifth.

North and Southeast Asia ranked sixth with 149,000 visitors and a share of 8 per cent, followed by the Americas in seventh place with 115,000 visitors or about 6 per cent of the total number of international visitors, Africa in eighth place with 71,000 visitors representing 4 per cent, and Australia in last place with 33,000 visitors representing 2 per cent of the total number of international visitors.