By: Mahmoud Gamal

Dubai – Mubasher: Indian and Saudi nationals topped foreigners visiting the emirate of Dubai during the full-year 2018, according to Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).

Over the course of the previous year, tourists coming from India led the GCC emirate’s inbound tourists with more than 2 million visitors, compared to 2.07 million in 2017.

“Be My Guest”

The increase in the number of Indian visitors to Dubai has been ascribed to boosting cooperation with key partners of India’s tourism sector and publications such as Times of India, as well as launching destination-focused promotions including the multi-award-winning #BeMyGuest campaign.

Shah Rukh Khan’s Be My Guest ad film produced by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing played an important role in improving seasonal campaigns and propping up the GCC nation’s tourism.

The three-minute movie has won two major awards at the 10th anniversary of the International Tourism Film Festival Tourfilm Riga, held in Riga, Latvia.

It also bagged the Grand Prix Award and first position in Tourism Destination Award category at the fest. 

Indian expatriates in the UAE make up the biggest community in the Arab nation with a total number of 2.7 million, representing 30% of the total population.

National Day

Celebrating Saudi Arabia’s National Day in the UAE helped in attracting more Saudi tourists to the Arab country.

The number of Dubai’s Saudi tourists increased 3% year-on-year to 1.6 million in 2018, supported by tailored activations, including specialised tourist programmes and promotions.

 Brexit

UK visitors to Dubai acquired the third place after Indians and Saudis with a total number of 1.2 million, despite rough conditions resulted from the Brexit that affected tourism negatively.

In 2018, Dubai welcomed around 15.92 million visitors, against 15.79 million in the prior year.

By the end of 2020, Dubai eyes attracting around 20 million tourists through launching more tourism offers and activities, in addition to improving the tourism infrastructure.

Megaprojects

Dubai, the UAE’s second-biggest sheikhdom, is working on establishing a raft of megaprojects represented in hotels and parks among others in a bid to attract more tourists over the coming few years.

Dubai has many attractive sites for tourists such as Dubai Mall, Burj Khalifa, Dubai Parks and Resorts, IMG Worlds of Adventure, and the Dubai Frame.

Translated by: Kholoud Mohamed Hussein