Dubai: From sand boarding to desert safaris, water sports to free diving, and mountain biking to rock climbing, the UAE offers the ‘World’s Coolest Winter’.
Running December 15 to January 31, 2022, the second edition of the tourism campaign was launched on Wednesday by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Awaiting residents and tourists alike are UAE’s nature reserves, oases, mountains, beaches and islands.
There is also a burgeoning adventure tourism scene, which includes deep-sea diving, parachute jumping, paragliding and other challenging sports.
The country’s cultural and heritage offering includes historical and heritage sites and various museums, while tourism for major festivals and celebrations will take at Expo 2020 Dubai, as well as artistic, musical and entertainment.
Finally, shopping tourism presents visitors with shopping festivals, offers and discounts in various regions of the country.
During the mild winter season, the UAE also offers an ideal destination for the MICE (meetings, conference incentive and exhibition) sector, as well as resources for health and medical tourism, providing visitors from all over the world the opportunity to benefit from world-class health services as well as recuperation during the winter with its cool air and moderate warmth.
Largest campaign
The second season of the World’s Coolest Winter campaign is organised by the UAE Government Media Office, in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy and relevant tourism and culture entities.
It is the largest campaign of its kind and will highlight the diversity of the UAE’s touristic and recreational attractions, the beauty of its natural landscapes, and the hospitality of its people, to familiarise residents and international tourists with the activities that the UAE winter offers.
Open invitation
This year’s World’s Coolest Winter campaign is an open invitation to all citizens and residents, as well as visitors to the UAE, to capture their most beautiful experiences, adventures and memorable moments in various parts of the country and share them across digital platforms.
The campaign is also accompanied by the provision of many exclusive promotions for the campaign by tourist establishments, hotels, shops and restaurants.
UAE tourism sector
The UAE achieved tourist occupancy rates in hotel and tourism establishments of 64 per cent between January and October of 2021. The UAE outperformed the top 10 tourist destinations in the world such as the US, which achieved an average of 58 per cent, China (54 per cent), and Britain (50 per cent).
In the first half of 2021, hotel and tourist establishments attracted about 8.3 million guests, a growth of 15 per cent compared to the first half of last year. During the same comparison period, the number of hotel nights spent by guests amounted to around 35 million nights, a growth of 30 per cent, and the average guest stay increased to 4.1 nights, with a growth of 12.5 per cent. This was accompanied by a 31 per cent growth in hotel establishment revenues, to reach Dh11.3 billion. The share of domestic tourism reached more than 30 per cent of the total guests of hotel establishments.
The global data website Statista expects the UAE to attract more than 31 million tourists annually by 2025, and the travel and tourism sector to contribute Dh280.6 billion to the UAE’s GDP by 2028.
