Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) today released its Annual Visitor Report 2017 at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).
The report details and evaluates the growth drivers behind Dubai’s record international overnight visitation in 2017, which totalled 15.8 million, rising a strong 6.2 per cent over the previous year. It also analyses visitor demographics, taking a closer look at who is travelling to Dubai, from where and for what reason, as well as how they are spending their time in the city, with the results of the annual Dubai Visitor Survey revealing the extent of visitors’ satisfaction with their Dubai experience.
In addition, the report reviews recent and upcoming enhancements to Dubai’s proposition and infrastructure, highlighting major developments across multiple sectors, offering insights into what can be expected moving forward.
Key findings and highlights of the Annual Visitor Report 2017 include:
- Dubai’s top 10 source markets contributed a share of 59 per cent of total tourist volumes, with the remainder made up of highly diversified markets across the globe.
- Three out of four visitors were families and couples, with individuals making up 14 per cent, friends 8 per cent, and colleagues 3 per cent of total visitation.
- 73.8 per cent of tourists travelled to Dubai for leisure purposes, with those visiting friends and relatives making up 13.9 per cent of the total, and business travellers 11.5 per cent.
- 77 per cent of visitors chose to stay in paid accommodation, as opposed to staying with friends and relatives.
- The gender mix was fairly balanced, with 47 per cent women travellers, while the party size averaged at 2.5 persons, staying in Dubai for an average of 7.6 days.
- The Dubai Mall remained the city’s most popular attraction, drawing 97 per cent of visitors, followed by The Dubai Fountain with 81 per cent, and heritage and cultural districts with 63 per cent.
- Surpassing 2016 ratings, 99.4 per cent of surveyed visitors said they were either ‘happy’ or ‘extremely happy’ with their overall Dubai experience, with a massive 69.1 per cent in the latter category.
- Similarly, an impressive 99.3 per cent of surveyed visitors indicated they would be ‘likely promoters’ or ‘active advocates’ of Dubai, recommending the destination to friends and family.
- The biggest increases in overall satisfaction levels were witnessed among travellers from Germany and France, with the biggest leaps in advocacy levels coming from German and Chinese visitors.
