FIFA World Cup could attract more visitors to the emirate, but strong dollar could be a drag
Dubai’s tourism and hospitality sector continued to recover in June, with international visitor numbers to the emirate more than doubling from the same period last year, but inflows were up in the first half of 2019. remained at a low level. is displayed.
In the first half of this year, 7.12 million people visited Dubai (with at least one night stay), almost double the number from last year, the report said.
“Higher demand in the GCC countries has resulted in an increase in visitor numbers from the region compared to the first half of 2021, when many travel restrictions were still in place,” said Emirates NBD.
Visitors from India made up the majority of tourists (returning to the top after a short trip last quarter). Oman was her second, followed by Saudi Arabia and the UK. Russia was fifth with 309,000 visitors in the first half. However, since March, visitor numbers from Russia have declined after the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
Hotel occupancy
The hotel’s occupancy rate dropped from 73% in May to 63% in June, similar to last June. Dubai’s hotel occupancy rate averaged 73.5% in the first half of 2022, slightly below the first half of 2019 (75.1%), and a significant improvement in 2020 and he compared to 2021.
Revenue per available room (RevPar) rose to USD 147 in the first half of 2022, up 21% from the first half of 2019, while the number of hotel rooms in the emirate has grown 22% since then. Dubai tourism in the second half is likely to be boosted by the World Cup in Qatar later this year and a broader recovery in international travel, but a stronger dollar could prove a headwind for UAE business.
“About half of Dubai’s international visitors come from emerging markets whose currencies have weakened this year, making Dubai a relatively more expensive destination than Europe, the UK and Asia. could also reduce the purchasing power of global consumers, weighing on tourism demand in the second half of 2022.”
(Writing by Brinda Darasha; editing by Seban Scaria)
brinda.darasha@lseg.com
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