Khelal Al Marri, DTCM CEO, said: “For the first time in history, our city has received over 10 million tourists. The growing tourist flow reflects the competent management of the sector, the development of world-class infrastructure, as well as the location of the emirate at the intersection of East and West routes and our applications common effort. "
The number of hotel guests and cruise tourists amounted to 10.16 million people in 2012, an increase compared to 2011 was 9.3%. 9.96 million people stayed in hotels, which is 9.5% more than a year earlier. The number of overnight stays in rooms increased by 14% and reached 37.4 million, and the total hotel profit amounted to 18.8 billion dirhams (US $ 5.13 billion) last year, which is 17.9% more than in 2011. In 2012, new cult and city hotels were opened, so their total number increased from 575 to 599. Among the new hotels are the five-star Jumeirah Creekside, Fairmont The Palm and JW Marriott Marquis, as well as a number of apart-hotels. It is worth noting that in 2013, the Emirate’s hotel fund will also be replenished with new Sofitel Dubai The Palm Resort & Spa hotels on The Palm Jumeirah and The Oberoi Dubai on the Sheikh Zayed Highway.
Khelal Al Marri said: “The growth in key indicators is a confirmation that our aggressive advertising and marketing strategy and positioning Dubai as the main tourist center at the regional level and on a global scale are true. If the city used to be perceived as a transit center, today it has become many a destination and a resort for extended vacations.
If we talk about the nationality of international tourists, the number of guests from Saudi Arabia increased by 30%, from China - by 28%, and from Russia - by 54%! “It is gratifying to see the growing number of tourists from those countries where we have representative offices. This indicates their important role in this process. So, they actively help us attract guests from such key countries as India, the UK, USA, Russia, Germany and China. "
