Dubai welcomed more than one million Britons last year

More than a million Britons visited Dubai last year, representing a 148% increase over 2021 numbers.

Latest figures from the emirate’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) show that overall tourism figures almost doubled year on year.

In 2022, Dubai received 14.36m visitors – up from 7.28m in 2021 – which is approaching pre-pandemic visitor numbers of 16.73m in 2019.

The emirate hailed the success of Expo 2020 Dubai, which was held last year, explaining how the event contributed massively to the tourism industry’s performance.

The six-month long event attracted more than 24 million visits.

Average occupancy levels for the hotel sector last year stood at around 73%, up from 67% in 2021.

Prior to the pandemic, the hotel sector’s occupancy levels stood at around 75%.

Dubai’s hotel inventory at the end of December 2022, comprised of 146,496 rooms across 804 hotels, compared to 126,120 rooms available at the end of December 2019 across 741 properties.

Helal Saeed Almarri, director general of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, said: “The performance of our industry in 2022 shows the extraordinary progress made by the city over the past two years.

“While the global economy remains in a state of flux, Dubai has emerged as a clear leader in the tourism industry.

“The robust performance is a testament to Dubai’s growing role at the vanguard of global tourism recovery.”